Executive Stress
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''Executive Stress'' 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 1986 to 1988. Produced by Thames Television, it first aired on 20 October 1986. After three series, the last episode aired on 27 December 1988. Written by George Layton, ''Executive Stress'' stars Penelope Keith as Caroline Fairchild, a middle-aged woman who decides to go back to work. Her husband, Donald, is played by Geoffrey Palmer in the first series. Palmer was unable to return for the second series, so Peter Bowles played Donald in the remaining two series. Keith and Bowles had previously appeared together in the BBC comedy series '' To the Manor Born''.


Production

The programme was set in the world of publishing as it was one of the few industries of the era dominated by women, meaning Donald and Caroline could realistically be on an equal footing at work. Producer John Howard Davies commissioned a second series before the first series had even aired. The opening theme, "Why We Fell in Love", was performed by Julie Covington. The lyrics were written by Tim Rice with the music composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber.


Cast

* Penelope Keith as Caroline Fairchild (née Fielding) * Geoffrey Palmer as Donald Fairchild ''(series 1)'' * Peter Bowles as Donald Fairchild ''(series 2 and 3)'' * Harry Ditson as Edgar Frankland Jr * Elizabeth Counsell as Anthea Duxbury * Mark Caven as Anthony * Hilary Gish as Nicky * Richard Marner as Herman Ginsberg ''(series 1)'' * Timothy Carlton as Peter Stuart ''(series 1)'' * Elspeth March as Patricia Fairchild, Donald Fairchild’s mother ''(series 2)'' * David Neville as Peter Stuart ''(series 2)'' * Lorraine Doyle as Jackie ''(series 1 and 2)'' * Ben Robertson as Stephen Cass ''(series 1 and 2)'' * Wanda Ventham as Sylvia ''(series 2)'' * Donald Pickering as Gordon ''(series 2)'' * Vincent Brimble as Tim Jackson ''(series 3)'' * Geoffrey Whitehead as Peter Davenport ''(series 3)'' * Eve Karpf as German Operator ''(series 3)''


Plot

After 26 years of marriage, mother-of-five Caroline Fairchild decides to go back to work. Her husband Donald would like her to work part-time in their home town of
Amersham Amersham ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, in the Chiltern Hills, northwest of central London, south-east of Aylesbury and north-east of High Wycombe. Amersham is part of the London commuter belt. There ar ...
in
Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...
. Instead she gets a job in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
as an Editorial Director for a company called Oasis Publishing. At the company she is reunited with her former secretary, Anthea Duxbury, who is a sales export director. Oasis Publishing is owned by the American Frankland Corporation, which is run by Edgar Frankland, Jr., the son of the corporation's boss. On Caroline's first day at work, The Frankland Corporation takes over Ginsberg Publishing, the company that Donald works for. Donald is moved to Oasis, and Caroline and he find themselves working together. However, an unwritten rule at Frankland states that married couples cannot work together, so they have to pretend not to know each other, so Caroline uses her maiden name of Fielding. In Series Two, Edgar finds out they are married, but does not sack them and makes them joint managing directors of Oasis.


Episodes

Three series of ''Executive Stress'' were broadcast from 1986 to 1988. The first series, made of seven episodes, aired on Mondays at 20:00 following ''
Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...
'', as did the six-episode second series. The third series, also of six episodes, aired on Tuesdays at 20.30 following ''
The Bill ''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV from 16 October 1984 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, "Woodentop (The Bill), Woodentop" (part of the ''Storyb ...
''.


Series 1: 1986


Series 2: 1987


Series 3: 1988


Broadcast around the world

In the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, many PBS member stations aired at least the first series in the 1980s and 1990s. The series was broadcast in
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
around the time it was made with reruns of the series also airing in 2009 on ABC Television.


DVD release

The complete first and second series were released on 26 April 2010 and 24 January 2011, by Network, The third (and final) series was finally released on 20 May 2013, followed by a complete series set (consisting all three series) on 13 August 2018.


See also

* '' The Cara Williams Show'', an American sitcom of 1964–1965 with a similar premise.


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Executive Stress 1986 British television series debuts 1988 British television series endings 1980s British sitcoms ITV sitcoms Television series by Fremantle (company) Television shows produced by Thames Television British English-language television shows 1980s British workplace comedy television series Television shows shot at Teddington Studios