''Ring Around the Bath'' is a domestic

situation comedy 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 ...

series broadcast on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

between 2003 and 2006. It was written by

Lucy Clare Lucy is an English feminine given name derived from the Latin masculine given name Lucius with the meaning ''as of light'' (''born at dawn or daylight'', maybe also ''shiny'', or ''of light complexion''). Alternative spellings are Luci, Luce, Luc ...

and Ian Davidson and produced by

Elizabeth Freestone Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Empress Elisabeth (disambiguation), lists various empresses named ''Elisabeth'' or ''Elizabeth'' * Princess Elizabeth ( ...

Cast

Duncan Preston Duncan Preston (born 11 August 1946) is a retired English actor. He is known for his appearances in television productions written by Victoria Wood, including his role in the soap opera parody sketches '' Acorn Antiques'' and as Stan in the s ...

as Patrick Bartholomew *

Penny Downie Penny Downie is an Australian actress known for her stage and television appearances in the United Kingdom. From 2017 until 2021 she played Ellen in the British TV sitcom ''Back''. She plays the US ambassador’s house manager Frances Munning ...

(Series 1 and 2) /

Pippa Haywood Philippa Jane Haywood (born 6 May 1961) is an English actress. She won the 2005 Rose d'Or Award for Best Female Comedy Performance for '' Green Wing'' (2004–2006). Her other television credits include '' The Brittas Empire'' (1991–1997), ...

(Series 3) as Stella Bartholomew *

Claudie Blakley Claudie Blakley (born 4 January 1974) is an English actress. She trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama. In 1998, she won the Ian Charleson Award for her performance in ''The Seagull'' at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds. She ...

as Alison Bartholomew *

Bruce Mackinnon Bruce Mackinnon (born 17 October 1978) is an English actor and writer who has appeared in various television programmes and films. Mackinnon was born in Esher, Surrey and was educated at Eton College, before studying drama at The University o ...

as Rick Bartholomew *

Daniela Denby-Ashe Daniela Jolanta Denby-Ashe (born 9 August 1978) is an English actress. She is best known for playing Sarah Hills on the soap opera ''EastEnders'', Margaret Hale on the period drama '' North and South'', and Janey Harper on the BBC sitcom ''My ...

as Egg Bartholomew *

Catherine Shepherd Catherine Shepherd is an English comedic actress, writer and director. Career In the early 2000s Shepherd appeared in several BBC Radio 4 comedies, as Daisy in the sitcom '' Think the Unthinkable'' alongside Marcus Brigstocke and David Mitchel ...

as Xanthe

Situation

Stella Bartholomew is a middle-aged mother with a job in a

garden centre A garden centre (American English spelling; U.S. nursery or garden center) is a retail business that primarily sells plants and related products for Home gardening, domestic gardening. Gardening centers usually revolve around outdoor home imp ...

. She hopes her adult children will move out of their chaotic suburban home so she and her husband can retire to the country. Her cookery-expert husband, Patrick, and the children are much less keen on the idea. Oldest daughter Alison is approaching thirty and works as an estate agent. Son Rick is unable to hold down a steady job. Rick's naïve but eager to help girlfriend Xanthe lives with them. The youngest in the family, Egg, is studying for

A-levels The A-level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational ...

Episodes

Series One

Series Two

Series Three

Broadcast History

Three series of the show have been broadcast, each with six half-hour episodes. The first series was aired in August and September 2003. The show returned for a second series in November and December 2004. The final series was aired in January and February 2006. Repeat airings have been made on

BBC Radio 7 BBC Radio 4 Extra (formerly BBC Radio 7) is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It mostly broadcasts archived repeats of comedy, drama and documentary programmes, and is the sister station of Radio 4. It is the pri ...

and

BBC Radio 4 Extra BBC Radio 4 Extra (formerly BBC Radio 7) is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It mostly broadcasts archived repeats of comedy, drama and documentary programmes, and is the sister station of Radio 4. It is the pri ...

Critical Reaction

The Guardian found it "tightly scripted" and "horribly realistic".Mahoney, Ellsabeth. "Offspring cleaning", ''The Guardian'' (1959–2003) ondon (UK)11 Aug 2003: B20

References

External links

*{{BBC programme
Radio listingsEpisode listing from epguides.com
BBC Radio comedy programmes 2003 radio programme debuts BBC Radio 4 programmes