''Solo'' 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

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and Flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includ ...

from 1981 to 1982. Starring

Felicity Kendal Felicity Ann Kendal (born 25 September 1946) is an English actress, working principally in television and theatre. She has appeared in numerous stage and screen roles over a more than 70-year career, including as Barbara Good in the television ...

, ''Solo'' was written by

Carla Lane Romana Barrack (5 August 1928 – 31 May 2016), better known as Carla Lane, was an English screenwriter who became known for creating or co-creating successful British sitcoms such as ''The Liver Birds'' (1969–1979), ''Butterflies'' (1978–19 ...

, a writer well known for having previously written the sitcom ''

Butterflies Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

''. Kendal plays Gemma Palmer, a woman who changes her life after discovering her live-in boyfriend has had an affair.

Production

Following the success of 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 ...

sitcom '' The Good Life'', each of its four main stars were given their own programme with them as the lead, and ''Solo'' was Kendal's. Similar to Carla Lane's sitcom ''Butterflies'', ''Solo'' has serious themes and plots but still has humour. The programme was produced by

Gareth Gwenlan Gareth Gwenlan (26 April 1937 – 8 May 2016) was a Welsh television producer, director and executive, best known for his work on shows such as ''The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin'', ''Butterflies (TV series), Butterflies'', ''To the Manor Bor ...

. The theme music was the theme from Op. 107 no. 7 by

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

, a set of flute and piano variations on the Ukrainian folk song ''Minka''.

Cast

– Gemma Palmer * Stephen Moore – Danny Tyrrell ''(series 1)'' *

Elspet Gray Elspet Jean Gray, Baroness Rix (née Gray; 12 April 1929 – 18 February 2013) was a Scottish actress, who first became known for her partnership with her husband, Brian Rix, and later was cast in many television roles in the 1970s and 1980s. ...

– Mrs. Elizabeth Palmer *Sarah Bullen – Julia *Debbie Wheeler – Josie ''(series 1)'' *Stella Goodier – Bernadette ''(series 1)'' *Michael Howe – Sebastian Bale ''(series 2)'' *

Belinda Mayne Belinda Mayne is a British actress who has appeared in film, television and theatre in Germany, the UK, and the US since 1974 when she made her first appearance in ''Strangers''. Partial filmography References External links * {{DEF ...

– Rosie ''(series 2)'' *

David Rintoul David Rintoul (born David Wilson; 29 November 1948) is a Scottish stage and television actor. Rintoul was born in Aberdeen, Scotland. He studied at the University of Edinburgh, and won a scholarship to study at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art ...

– Rex Collins ''(series 2)'' *

Peter Howitt Peter Howitt (; born 5 May 1957) is a British actor and film director. Biography Early life Howitt was born on 5 May 1957, the son of Frank Howitt, a renowned Fleet Street journalist who, in 1963, broke the infamous Profumo affair, Profumo ...

– Raif

Plot

Series One

When 30-year-old Gemma Palmer discovers that her live-in boyfriend Danny Tyrrell has been having an affair with her best friend Gloria, she chucks him out of her flat and quits her office job. The incident makes Gemma realise that she was being treated as a doormat by her friends and colleagues, and gets rid of all her old friends. She then tries to change herself into a stronger person, but she is unable to change her core beliefs and remains very emotional. Despite splitting from Danny, they remain friends, and he wants them to get back together. Danny and Gemma briefly live together towards the end of the series, but after one week she asks him to leave, saying she wants to be single again. Gemma's traditional-thinking mother is the widowed 55-year-old Mrs. Palmer, whose husband Arnold died after 30 years of marriage and three children. She would like Gemma to settle down, marry and have children, like she did, but Gemma wants more out of life. During the series, she starts a relationship with a 35-year-old man, the

unseen Unseen or The Unseen may refer to: cannot to be seen Film and television * ''The Unseen'' (1945 film), an American film noir directed by Lewis Allen * ''The Unseen'' (1980 film), an American horror film directed by Danny Steinmann * ''The Uns ...

Howard. The flat above Gemma's is occupied by two flat-sharing 20-somethings;

blond Blond () or blonde (), also referred to as fair hair, is a human hair color characterized by low levels of eumelanin, the dark pigment. The resultant visible hue depends on various factors, but always has some yellowish color. The color can be ...

e Josie, a petrol pump attendant, and Bernadette, a

nurse Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...

. Josie is constantly worrying and talking about her current boyfriend, and later becomes pregnant by the

Geoffrey. Bernadette meanwhile has little luck with men. At the end of the series, Josie and Geoffrey get a

bedsit A bedsit, bedsitter, or bed-sitting room is a form of accommodation common in some parts of the United Kingdom which consists of a single room per occupant with all occupants typically sharing a bathroom. Bedsits are included in a legal categor ...

together.

Series Two

The second series begins six months after Gemma told Danny to leave and she is now 31 years old. Happily living alone, she has a brief relationship with 19-year-old Raif before meeting Sebastian Bale, a philanderer who lives in the flat above her. The night they meet, they sleep together but after that, they become good friends and breakfasting together most mornings. Towards the end of the series, Sebastian begins to grow ever closer to Rosie, whom he met a party. Rosie soon separates from her partner,

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating the work of art. The most common usage (in both everyday speech and academic discourse) refers to a practitioner in the visual arts o ...

Rex Collins, and he and Gemma then start seeing each other. The series ends with Sebastian and Rosie engaged, with he having to reluctantly end the daily breakfast he enjoyed with Gemma. Gemma meanwhile appears to separate from Rex after arguing about her future domestic role if they got married. Gemma's mother Mrs. Palmer, whose first name is revealed as Elizabeth, continues her relationship with the younger Howard. She continues to wish that Gemma would settle down, and after one argument she and Gemma meet less often to give Gemma her own space. As the series ends, Mrs. Palmer goes through the

menopause Menopause, also known as the climacteric, is the time when Menstruation, menstrual periods permanently stop, marking the end of the Human reproduction, reproductive stage for the female human. It typically occurs between the ages of 45 and 5 ...

but Howard sticks by her, despite her worries.

Episodes

''Solo'' aired for two series from 11 January 1981 to 17 October 1982, and each of the thirteen episodes is thirty minutes long. When originally aired, the episodes were broadcast on Sunday evenings on

. On 10 March 1989, seven years after the last episode aired, a

Comic Relief Comic Relief is a British charity, founded in 1986 by the comedy scriptwriter Richard Curtis and comedian Sir Lenny Henry in response to the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. The concept of Comic Relief was to get British comedians to make t ...

special short episode, "The Last Waltz", aired on BBC1. Written especially by Carla Lane, it features characters from four of Lane's sitcoms; ''Solo'', ''Butterflies'', ''

Bread Bread is a baked food product made from water, flour, and often yeast. It is a staple food across the world, particularly in Europe and the Middle East. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cu ...

'' and ''

The Liver Birds ''The Liver Birds'' is a British sitcom, set in Liverpool, North West England, which aired on BBC1 from April 1969 to December 1978, and again in 1996. The show was created by Carla Lane and Myra Taylor. The two Liverpudlian housewives had me ...

''.

Series One (1981)

Series Two (1982)

Comic Relief Special (1989)

DVD releases

The two series of ''Solo'' were released in a boxset in Region 2 (UK) on 17 March 2003.

References

;General * ;Specific

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Solo 1981 British television series debuts 1982 British television series endings 1980s British sitcoms BBC television sitcoms British English-language television shows Television shows set in London