''Rides'' is a

British television Television broadcasts in the United Kingdom began in 1932, however, regular broadcasts would only begin four years later. Television began as a public service which was free of advertising, which followed the first demonstration of a transm ...

series produced by the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

between 1992 and 1993. It lasted two series of six episodes each and was made by Warner Sisters, a UK-based television production company based in

Ealing Ealing () is a district in west London (sub-region), west London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. It is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Pl ...

. The series revolved around an all-female taxi firm. The series starred Jill Baker as Patrice Jenner, a former

Royal Corps of Transport The Royal Corps of Transport (RCT) was a British Army Corps established to manage all matters in relation to the transport of men and material for the Army and the wider defence forces. It was formed in 1965 and disbanded in 1993; its units and tr ...

warrant officer Warrant officer (WO) is a Military rank, rank or category of ranks in the armed forces of many countries. Depending on the country, service, or historical context, warrant officers are sometimes classified as the most junior of the commissioned ...

who starts up an all-women taxi firm. The first series dealt with the establishment of the business and the recruitment of a team of drivers - Scarlett (

Caroline Blakiston Caroline Georgiana Blakiston (born 13 February 1933) is an English actress. She is best known for her role in the British television comedy series ''Brass (TV series), Brass'' and to international audiences as Mon Mothma in the ''Star Wars'' fil ...

), Janet (

Louise Jameson Louise Marion Jameson (born 20 April 1951) is an English actress with a variety of television and theatre credits. Her roles on television have included playing Leela (Doctor Who), Leela in ''Doctor Who'' (1977–1978), Anne Reynolds in ''The O ...

), Sue-Lyn (

Katharine Schlesinger Katharine Schlesinger (born 29 April 1963) is a British actress. In 1987, she starred as Catherine Morland in the BBC Television adaptation of Jane Austen's ''Northanger Abbey'' and Anne Frank in the BBC's '' The Diary of Anne Frank''. She is ...

), Aileen (Lynda Steadman), Aggie (

Nimmy March Lady Naomi Anna Gordon-Lennox (born March 1962), known as Nimmy March, is an English actress. Background March's biological parents were a father from Lesotho and an English mother. As an illegitimate child, she was abandoned by her birth mother ...

) and George (

Nicola Cowper Nicola Jane Cowper (born 21 December 1967) is a British actress. Cowper is the younger sister of twin actresses Gerry Cowper and Jackie Cowper. Cowper made an impression as a film actress in her early career, but she is best known for her work o ...

). The second series explored more personal storylines involving the women, such as Patrice's relationship with her teenage daughter Beki (

Lucy Speed Lucy Renee Speed (born 31 August 1976) is an English actress best known for her television roles as Natalie Evans in the BBC One soap opera ''EastEnders'' appearing in 526 episodes between 1994 and 2004, and as DS Stevie Moss in the ITV polic ...

). The first series also starred

Jesse Birdsall Jesse Birdsall (born 13 February 1963) is an English actor, known for his roles as Marcus Tandy in the BBC1 soap opera '' Eldorado'' (1992–1993), Nick Beckett in the adventure series '' Bugs'' (1995–1999), football manager Roger Webb in ''Fo ...

as Julian, Patrice's love interest, however in series two Julian was played by a different actor,

James Purefoy James Brian Mark Purefoy (born 3 June 1964) is an English actor. He played Marcus Antonius in the HBO series ''Rome'', Nick Jenkins in '' A Dance to the Music of Time'', college professor turned serial killer Joe Carroll in the series '' The Fo ...

. George was a motorbike-riding, leather-clad lesbian who was dating Sacha, played by Charlotte Avery. They lived in a squat and befriended Patrice's daughter Beki - causing much concern to Patrice. George, Frankie and Sacha were the motorcyclists who made up the 'dispatch' part of the firm. Scarlett (

) was a transgender woman.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=0395898, title=Rides
Warner Sisters website
BBC television dramas 1990s British drama television series 1992 British television series debuts 1993 British television series endings British English-language television shows