The Rag Trade

Can't see a thread for this so here it is.

"The Rag Trade is a British television sitcom broadcast by the BBC between 1961 and 1963 and by LWT between 1977 and 1978.

The scripts were by Ronald Wolfe and Ronald Chesney, who later wrote Wild, Wild Women, Meet The Wife and On The Buses. Wild, Wild Women was a period variation of The Rag Trade.

The action centred on a small clothing workshop (the title refers to the textile industry), Fenner Fashions in London. Although run by Harold Fenner (Peter Jones) and Reg the foreman (Reg Varney), the female workers are led by militant shop steward Paddy Fleming (Miriam Karlin), ever ready to strike, with the catchphrase "Everybody out!". Other cast members included Sheila Hancock (as Carole), Esma Reese Cannon (as Lily Swann), Wanda Ventham (as Shirley) and Barbara Windsor (as Judy).

The Rag Trade was revived by ITV company LWT in 1977, with Jones and Karlin reprising their roles. The 1977 version ran for two series, most of the scripts being based on the BBC episodes from the 1960s, and featured Anna Karen (reprising her role as Olive from On The Buses) and future EastEnders star Gillian Taylforth as factory workers.

The theme tune for the LWT series was written and performed by Lynsey De Paul.

In 1990 the series was remade as the series Fredrikssons Fabrikk by NRK in Norway. It ran for three season (1990-93) (17 half hours and one 45min special) and spawned a film version, Fredrikssons Fabrikk - The Movie, in 1994 with a script credited to Chesney and Wolfe, and Norwegian series writer Andreas Markusson."

Discuss this sitcom here.

I love On The Buses but can't say that I was too keen on this.

I thought On The Buses was way better than The Rag Trade but it was a good sitcom.

Quote: george roper @ February 6 2013, 7:17 PM GMT

I thought On The Buses was way better than The Rag Trade but it was a good sitcom.

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Yes I suppose but The Rag Trade I felt never had that same edge as On The Buses has.

It wasn't the greatest of sitcoms but it does show you what life was like back then when we used to make things in the UK! Perhaps all the skiving off that we saw in the episodes was mimicking reality and that's why our rag trade has diminished?!

That is indeed a large contributing factor in the decline of British manufacturing.

Quote: Aaron @ February 10 2013, 2:28 PM GMT

That is indeed a large contributing factor in the decline of British manufacturing.

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How does the LWT series compare to the BBC?

One Amazon reviewer on the LWT DVD said:

"I expected a completely new set of scripts and situations, sadly I was disapointed, in most cases they were the same epidodes as in the BBC series but with a couple of different actors and very little alteration in the scripts, but easily reconisable as BBC episodes."

Just wondered if anyone could shed some light...

Quote: fustidious @ July 26 2013, 5:58 AM BST

How does the LWT series compare to the BBC?

One Amazon reviewer on the LWT DVD said:

"I expected a completely new set of scripts and situations, sadly I was disapointed, in most cases they were the same epidodes as in the BBC series but with a couple of different actors and very little alteration in the scripts, but easily reconisable as BBC episodes."

Just wondered if anyone could shed some light...

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I can't and hope someone else can. I do have a thought.

American Jewish sitcoms - great. British Jewish sitcoms - so-so??

(Happy to be wrong if needs be).

Quote: Horseradish @ July 26 2013, 9:47 AM BST

American Jewish sitcoms - great. British Jewish sitcoms - so-so??

(Happy to be wrong if needs be).

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Are they all great? And what's a Jewish sitcom? There are few US sitcoms that don't have Jewish input somewhere, studio/producer/writer/actor - they virtually have a monopoly on comedy in America. And not all of them are great! And some US and UK sitcoms have been great, had a Jew or two involved but not been about being Jewish. So what's a Jewish sitcom?

Simply Media are going to release this (the BBC series) on DVD. According to their website It looks like there will only be 19 episodes included, not the possible 21! Does anyone know if that's correct, and if it is why would they do that?

Quote: marac @ 2nd October 2017, 5:41 PM

Simply Media are going to release this (the BBC series) on DVD. According to their website It looks like there will only be 19 episodes included, not the possible 21! Does anyone know if that's correct, and if it is why would they do that?

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They released the two series individually more than a decade ago when they were called DD Home Entertainment. I've pointed out to them that there appear to be another 2 episodes discovered since then, but they seem to have chosen to do a straight repackaging - including Series 1 episodes in a wildly incorrect order - rather than actually creating a proper new release.

A huge shame. But still a fantastic, very funny sitcom that should be on your shelf if it's not already.

Quote: fustidious @ 26th July 2013, 5:58 AM

How does the LWT series compare to the BBC?

One Amazon reviewer on the LWT DVD said:

"I expected a completely new set of scripts and situations, sadly I was disapointed, in most cases they were the same epidodes as in the BBC series but with a couple of different actors and very little alteration in the scripts, but easily reconisable as BBC episodes."

Just wondered if anyone could shed some light...

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I've not watched all the LWT episodes, and of course it's impossible to watch all of the BBC ones, but at least many of the LWT revival are indeed reworked scripts. A lot of changes - there's 5 minutes to lose, for starters - particularly to dialogue, but the broad plot lines are often the same.

It's an absolutely fascinating watch though: being able to contrast the same show with the same style of writing, over 2 decades, with 2 director/producers and 2 channels. The end result, visually, is so markedly different.

Quote: Fazza @ 10th February 2013, 1:20 PM

It wasn't the greatest of sitcoms but it does show you what life was like back then when we used to make things in the UK! Perhaps all the skiving off that we saw in the episodes was mimicking reality and that's why our rag trade has diminished?!

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No wouldn't have made a jot of difference once transportation made outsourcing to near slave trade countries far more profitable. That happened in the 60s so the 70s rerun was already obsolete in reality.

The sitcom itself was a very strong one while possibly not the funniest. I remember watching both the 70s rerun and the black and white rerun on 70s repeats and enjoying it. Strong characters and performances, one of those in which the characters and storylines were more dominant than the comedy, but still made it a good sitcom or at least a good show. Not too different from many ITV sitcoms in that it was quite corny humour but played strongly by good solid actors who made the thing watchable.

I love the Rag Trade it was one of my favourite comedy shows at the time, and even now I am yet to see the ITV version.
Our family had a TV early on when there was only 1 channel the BBC, it seems strange to think of this now but we didn't see any ITV shows until BBC 2 came out.
That was simply because dad had to buy the TV probably by hire purchase, and nowadays its impossible for people to realise just how much of a luxury goods TV's were.
I would never compare Rag Trade with On the Buses, as they are both good but different comedies.

No one I knew actually owned a TV.They were rented from Radio Rentals or Rentaset,etc....TV's would break down quite a lot and repairs were free.