''Ruby Speaking'' is a six-part British comedy television series for

ITVX ITVX is a British Over-the-top media services, over-the-top and ad-supported Streaming television, streaming service operated by ITV plc. The service offers original content from the broadcaster, livestreams of the ITV television channels, Free ...

made by Yellow Door Productions, created and written by Abigail Wilson, and co-created with

Jayde Adams Jayde Pricilla Gail Adams (born 26 November 1984) is a British comedian, actress, writer and opera singer from Bristol. She is the winner of the 2014 Funny Women Award. Early life Born in Bedminster, Bristol, Adams attended her aunt's freestyl ...

and Lucy Lumsden. It stars Adams, Katherine Kelly,

Sam Swainsbury Sam Swainsbury (born 23 August 1982) is an English actor, known for his roles as Jason in the BBC Two, BBC sitcom ''Mum (TV series), Mum'' and the Stonehenge TV reporter in ''Thor: The Dark World''. Early life Swainsbury was born in Colchester a ...

and Joe Sims. After an initial release exclusive to ITVX in June 2023, the show was broadcast on linear television on

ITV2 ITV2 is a Television in the United Kingdom, British free-to-air television channel owned by ITV Digital Channels, a division of ITV plc. It was launched on 7 December 1998. For a number of years, it had the largest audience share after the fiv ...

in January and February 2024. It ran for one series.

Synopsis

Working in a call-centre called Hellocom in South Bristol, recently single Ruby is popular amongst other staff, but puts others over herself and over a sale as she struggles to keep to the call-centre script.

Cast

as Ruby Morgan, a gregarious call-centre worker whose lively interactions with customers, that she has genuine interest in, masks her otherwise lack of enthusiasm for the job, but is not able to cover up for her lacklustre sales record and routinely puts her

job security Job security is the probability that an individual will keep their job; a job with a high level of security is such that a person with the job would have a small chance of losing it. Many factors threaten job security: globalization, outsourcing ...

in jeopardy. * Joe Sims as Tom Drindle, whose braggadocio over his supreme sales record, and bootlicking, becomes heavily obnoxious. * Katherine Kelly as Vicki, the manipulative company head. *

as Mark, uptight but generally dependable and keen to see his colleagues succeed, seeing himself as the de facto head of the Bristol branch of Hellocom. * Jamal Franklin as Cameron Cole, a student only temporarily working at Hellocom, but already roping several co-workers into a choir that Ruby reluctantly is enlisted to become the head of. * Nicky Goldie as Donna DiMaggio *

Amy-Leigh Hickman Amy-Leigh Hickman (born 16 September 1997) is an English actress. Hickman made her television debut as Carmen Howle in the CBBC series '' Tracy Beaker Returns'', a role she reprised in the sequel series ''The Dumping Ground''. She then went on ...

as Ellie * Dan Hiscox as Craig, the eccentric building security guard. * Kiera Lester as Melons, an impressive new starter. *

Gledys Ibarra Gledys Ibarra (born November 19, 1960) is a Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of V ...

Episodes

Production

The series is produced by Lucy Lumsden and Jayde Adams for Yellow Door Productions. Ideas for the show were loosely inspired by Adams time spent working at a centre in the

Stokes Croft Stokes Croft is a road in Bristol, England. It is part of the A38, a main road north of the city centre. Locals refer to the area around the road by the same name. The road became a centre of industry during the mid-19th century, including th ...

area of Bristol.

Casting

In the cast are local actors from Bristol who answered open casting adverts, including Dan Hiscox who was working as a care assistant in nearby village

Pucklechurch Pucklechurch is a civil parish in South Gloucestershire, England, the main settlement of which is the large village of Pucklechurch. The parish also incorporates the hamlet of Shortwood to the west of Pucklechurch village, and Parkfield to the ...

Filming

Filming began in January 2023. Filming took place in the

Totterdown Totterdown is an inner-suburb of Bristol, England, situated just south of the River Avon and to the south-east of Temple Meads railway station and the city centre. It rises relatively steeply from the river bank to a largely terraced Victorian ...

area of South Bristol.

Broadcast

The series was made available on

from 22 June 2023.

Reception

Steve Bennett wrote, in a two-and-a-half star review for

Chortle Chortle is a British comedy website launched in 2000 by Steve Bennett. The site is a major source of comedy news in the UK. It also reviews comedy shows nationwide, including extensively at the annual Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and presents the C ...

, that Adams' character Ruby is "just a little too bland to sustain the viewer’s interest – which is something of a surprise for anyone familiar with Adams's often brash, larger-than-life stand-up performances". However, he praised the relatability of the characters - rather than being "comedy archetypes" - and that the show was mostly "built on gentleness, both of the characters and of the action", but that "it may be quite a big ask for a streaming show to hope audiences stick with the show and warm to its laid-back pace".

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ruby Speaking 2023 British television series debuts 2023 British television series endings 2020s British sitcoms Television shows shot in Bristol British English-language television shows ITV sitcoms ITV comedy Television shows filmed in England