''The First Lady'' 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 ...

in 1968 and 1969. The series starred

Thora Hird Dame Thora Hird (28 May 1911 – 15 March 2003) was an English actress. In a career spanning over 70 years, she appeared in more than 100 films, as well as many television roles, becoming a household name and a British institution. Hird w ...

as crusading local councillor Sarah Danby and was set around the fictional borough of Furness in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

. Capitalising on the popularity of its lead actress, ''The First Lady'' was a down-to-earth series exploring the inner workings of local government. Due to the BBC's

wiping Wipe or wiping may refer to: Hygiene * Toilet paper or wet wipes, or their use Arts and media * Wipe (transition), a gradual transition in film editing * Wipe curtain, a kind of theater curtain * ''Wipe'' or ''Screenwipe'', a television series ...

policy of the era, the series mostly no longer exists in the BBC archives, with only one complete episode that is known to exist.

Cast

as Sarah Danby (39 episodes, 1968–1969) *Henry Knowles as Tom Danby (38 episodes, 1968–1969) * Robert Keegan as Will Tarrant (38 episodes, 1968–1969) *

James Grout James David Grout (22 October 1927 – 24 June 2012) was an English actor of radio and television. He was best known for playing Chief Superintendent Strange in ''Inspector Morse''. Early life Grout was born in London, the son of Beatrice Anne ...

as George Kingston (38 episodes, 1968–1969) *

Margaret John Margaret John (14 December 1926 – 2 February 2011) was a Welsh, BAFTA award-winning actress, known for her role as Doris O'Neill in ''Gavin & Stacey''. Early life Born in Swansea, as a child she wanted to be a nurse or vet, but she could n ...

as Margaret Kingston (8 episodes, 1968–1969) *Donald Layne-Smith as Alderman Bowland (4 episodes, 1968–1969) *Pamela Craig as Betty (3 episodes, 1968–1969) * George A. Cooper as Fred Glossop (3 episodes, 1968–1969)

References

External links

* BBC television dramas Lost BBC episodes 1960s British drama television series 1968 British television series debuts 1969 British television series endings Black-and-white British television shows British English-language television shows {{BBC-drama-tv-prog-stub