''Second Thoughts'' is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

comedy television programme that ran from 3 May 1991 to 14 October 1994. It was broadcast on the ITV network and made by the ITV company LWT. It was followed by a sequel, '' Faith in the Future''. ''Second Thoughts'' followed the lives of two middle-aged divorcees, Bill MacGregor and Faith Greyshott, from very different backgrounds trying to develop a relationship, despite the pressures pulling it apart (namely Faith's two teenage children and Bill's devious ex-wife Liza, who works alongside him). ''Second Thoughts'' was based upon the real-life relationship of the writers, husband and wife

Jan Etherington Jan Etherington is a British writer, journalist and producer. Early life She attended Tiffin Girls' School. Career She first came to prominence as creator and writer of '' Second Thoughts'' along with her husband Gavin Petrie. ''Second Thought ...

and

Gavin Petrie Gavin Petrie is a British writer and producer. He first came to prominence as creator and writer of '' Second Thoughts'' along with his wife Jan Etherington. ''Second Thoughts'' was originally a radio series (1988–1992) before being turned into ...

. It originally aired as a radio series 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 ...

broadcast between 1 November 1988 and 23 July 1992. The radio series consisted of four series and a Christmas special broadcast in 1992, with a total of 31 episodes. The radio scripts were used for the television series on ITV. The fifth series was the only series not to be based on the original radio scripts. During the recording of an episode of series four,

Lynda Bellingham Lynda Bellingham ( ; 31 May 194819 October 2014) was an English actress, broadcaster and author. She acted in television series such as ''All Creatures Great and Small (1978 TV series), All Creatures Great and Small'', ''Doctor Who'', ''Second Tho ...

was surprised by the '' This Is Your Life'' host

Michael Aspel Michael Terence Aspel (born 12 January 1933) is an English retired television presenter and newsreader. He hosted programmes such as '' Crackerjack!'', '' Ask Aspel'', ''Aspel & Company'', '' Give Us a Clue'', '' This Is Your Life'', '' Strange ...

on set as she was to be the star of an episode of ''This is Your Life''. Her co-star

James Bolam James Christopher Bolam (born 16 June 1935) is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as Terry Collier in '' The Likely Lads'' and its sequel ''Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?'', Jack Ford in ''When the Boat Comes In'', Roy Fig ...

was in on the surprise, and Lynda appeared truly shocked when

appeared on the set to present her with the big red book and to tell her "this is your life!" to the thundering applause of the studio audience. ''Second Thoughts'' ended on 14 October 1994, but has since been repeated on

Forces TV The British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) provides radio and television programmes for His Majesty's Armed Forces, and their dependents worldwide. Editorial control is independent of the Ministry of Defence and the armed forces themselv ...

. The original radio series was often replayed on

BBC7 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 continues to be repeated on BBC7's rebranded replacement,

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 ...

Characters

*Bill MacGregor (

) – An art editor of a style magazine where he works alongside his bitchy ex-wife Liza. *Faith Greyshott (

) – Faith is a freelance illustrator who occasionally does work for the style magazine Bill works for. She has two teenagers from her previous marriage, Hannah and Joe. The children and the dog often come before Bill. *Liza MacGregor ''(sometimes known as Liza Ferrari)'' ( Belinda Lang) – Bill's glamorous ex-wife, Liza is a histrionic woman with expensive tastes. Liza works for the same magazine as Bill and is constantly interfering with Bill and Faith's relationship. *Hannah Greyshott (

Julia Sawalha Julia Sawalha (born 9 September 1968) is an English actress. She is best known for playing Saffron "Saffy" Monsoon in the BBC sitcom '' Absolutely Fabulous'' (1992–2012). Her other television roles include as Lynda Day in '' Press Gang'' (198 ...

) – Faith's teenage daughter and eldest child. *Joe Greyshott ( Mark Denham) – Faith's teenage son. Joe is obsessed with football and only shows interest in girls when they like football. *Hilary (

Louisa Rix Louisa MacGregor Rix (born 2 February 1955) is a British former actress of theatre, film and television. She is perhaps best known for her role as Kevin the Teenager's mum, Mrs Patterson, in the BBC TV series, ''Harry Enfield & Chums'', and i ...

in series 1; Paddy Navin in series 2 and 3) – Faith's best friend who is unlucky in love. *Richard (

Geoffrey Whitehead Geoffrey Whitehead (born 1 October 1939) is an English actor. He has appeared in a range of television, film and radio roles. Early life Whitehead was born on 1 October 1939 in Grenoside, Sheffield. After his father was killed in the Second Wo ...

) – Bill's boss at the magazine. Richard is married to Marjorie, but has an affair with Liza. *Marjorie (Georgina Melville) *Callum (Ian Henderson) – Bill's cousin. *Defor the Dog (Levi)

Episode guide

Series overview

Series 1 (1991)

Series 2 (1992)

Series 3 (1992–1993)

Series 4 (1993)

Series 5 (1994)

Radio series

Second Thoughts original started as a Radio series on BBC radio 4, between 1988 and 1991, before moving onto TV series.

Episode guide

* 1st series: 3 November-22 December 1988 * 2nd Series: 31 October-19 December 1989 * 3rd Series: 9 April-28 May 1991 * 4th Series: 18 June-23 July 1992 Xmas special 25 December 1992 ('The Fight Before Christmas').

DVD releases

All five series of ''Second Thoughts'' have been released on DVD. The first series was released in June 2005, but there was a six-year gap before the second series was released on 11 July 2011. (During the gap, Network DVD was busy sorting out and planning release schedules on other TV shows.) The third series was released just under four months later on 7 November 2011, followed by the fourth series on 16 January 2012, and the fifth and final series on 5 March 2012, with a complete series set consisting of all five series together that followed.

References

External links

* * * {{British Comedy Guide, tv, second_thoughts 1990s British sitcoms 1991 British television series debuts 1994 British television series endings British English-language television shows ITV sitcoms London Weekend Television shows Television series by ITV Studios