''Backs to the Land'' is a British

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

that aired on ITV from 15 April 1977 to 1 September 1978. Starring Philippa Howell, Terese Stevens and Marilyn Galsworthy, ''Backs to the Land'' is set during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. It was written by David Climie and the theme song was sung by World War II sweetheart Anne Shelton. It was made for the ITV network by

Anglia Television ITV Anglia, previously known as Anglia Television, is the ITV franchise holder for the East of England. The station is based at Anglia House in Norwich, with regional news bureaux in Cambridge and Northampton. ITV Anglia is owned and operated b ...

Cast

* Philippa Howell - ''Shirley Bloom'' * Terese Stevens - ''Jenny Dabb'' * Marilyn Galsworthy - ''Daphne Finch-Beauchamp'' ''(first 7 episodes)'' * John Stratton - ''Tom Whitlow'' *Della Paton - ''Ethel Whitlow'' *

David Troughton David Troughton (born 9 June 1950) is an English actor. He is known for his Shakespearean roles on the British stage and for his many roles on British television, including Dr Bob Buzzard in ''A Very Peculiar Practice'' and Ricky Hanson in ''Ne ...

- ''Roy Whitlow'' ''(series 1)'' *

Michael Troughton Michael Troughton (born 2 March 1955) is an English actor, teacher and writer. He is best known for his television roles including Melish in ''Minder'' and Sir Piers Fletcher-Dervish in '' The New Statesman''. Early life Troughton was born a ...

- ''Eric Whitlow'' ''(series 1)'' *

Alison Leggatt Alison Joy Leggatt (7 February 1904 – 15 July 1990) was an English character actor, character actress. Career Born in the Kensington district of London, Leggatt trained under Elsie Fogerty at the Central School of Speech and Drama, then based ...

- ''Lady Bramston'' ''(series 1)'' *

Arthur Lovegrove Arthur Lovegrove (15 July 1913 – 7 November 1981) was a British actor and playwright. His comedy ''Goodnight Mrs Puffin'' starring Irene Handl, ran for 3 years in London's West End, from 1961. Filmography * ''Noose'' (1948) - Drummer (u ...

- ''Tilford'' ''(series 1)'' *

Jeremy Child Sir Coles John Jeremy Child, 3rd Baronet (20 September 1944 – 7 March 2022) was a British actor. Early life Coles John Jeremy Child was born on 20 September 1944 in Woking, Surrey, son of Foreign Office diplomat Sir Coles John Child, 2nd B ...

- ''Captain Truscott'' ''(series 2)'' * Pippa Page - ''Bunny Burroughs'' ''(from series 2)'' *Stephanie Fayerman - ''Aggie'' *

Charles Lamb Charles Lamb (10 February 1775 – 27 December 1834) was an English essayist, poet, and antiquarian, best known for his '' Essays of Elia'' and for the children's book '' Tales from Shakespeare'', co-authored with his sister, Mary Lamb (1764� ...

- ''Wally'' * Geraldine Newman - ''Miss Rainbow'' *

Peter Tuddenham Peter Tuddenham (27 November 1918 – 9 July 2007) was a British actor. He was well known for his voice work, which included the voices of the computers in the BBC science fiction series ''Blake's 7'' (1978–1981). Life and career Tuddenham w ...

- ''Landlord''

Plot

''Backs to the Land'' starts in 1940 with three young women who are in the

Women's Land Army The Women's Land Army (WLA) was a British civilian organisation created in 1917 by the Board of Agriculture during the First World War to bring women into work in agriculture, replacing men called up to the military. Women who worked for the ...

, going to work in a farm to replace the men who have gone to war. The three women are Daphne,

Cockney Cockney is a dialect of the English language, mainly spoken in London and its environs, particularly by Londoners with working-class and lower middle class roots. The term ''Cockney'' is also used as a demonym for a person from the East End, ...

Jenny, and

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

ish, down-to-earth Shirley. They end up at Crabtree Farm in Clayfield,

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

. The owner is Tom Whitlow, and his sons are Roy and Eric.

Episodes

Series One (1977)

#"A Miss Is As Good As A Male" (15 April 1977) #"Nymphs & Shepherds Come Expensive" (22 April 1977) #"Alarms, Excursions and Day Trips" (29 April 1977) #"Sons and Lovers, God Forbid" (6 May 1977) #"We Shall Fight Them In The Breeches" (13 May 1977) #"All Is Somehow Gathered In" (20 May 1977)

Series Two (1977–78)

#"Enter Flirting" (2 December 1977) #"All Mod. Con-Tricks" (9 December 1977) #"Nickers In The Woodpile" (16 December 1977) #"The Warsaw Overture" (23 December 1977) #"The Magnetic Pole" (30 December 1977) #"New Broomsticks" (6 January 1978)

Series Three (1978)

#"Rainbow Around My Neck" (21 July 1978) #"Remains to be Seen" (28 July 1978) #"Let's Talk Turkey" (4 August 1978) #"Waits and Desperate Measures" (11 August 1978) #"Don't Call Us, We'll Call You" (18 August 1978) #"A Day Dog and Doris" (25 August 1978) #"Right Royal" (1 September 1978)

DVD release

All three series of ''Backs to the Land'' have been released on 28 June 2010 and on 6 February and 9 April 2012. A 3-disc set of the complete series is scheduled to follow at some point.

References

Mark Lewisohn Mark Lewisohn (born 16 June 1958) is an English historian and biographer. Since the 1980s, he has written many reference books about the Beatles and has worked for EMI, MPL Communications and Apple Corps.

, "Radio Times Guide to TV Comedy", BBC Worldwide Ltd, 2003
''Backs to the Land''
at British TV Comedy

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Backs to the Land 1977 British television series debuts 1978 British television series endings 1970s British sitcoms World War II television comedy series ITV sitcoms Television series by ITV Studios Television shows produced by Anglia Television British English-language television shows Television shows set in Norfolk Television series set in 1940