Waggoners' Walk was a daily radio soap opera, set in the fictional cul-de-sac of Waggoners' Walk and its environs inHampstead, north London. It was broadcast daily onBBC Radio 2 from 1969 to 1980, in the form of 15-minute episodes on weekday afternoons with a repeat the following weekday morning. The programme came to a sudden end in May 1980 as part of a number of economies made by the BBC.
Waggoners' Walk was introduced as a successor to the long-runningThe Dales (1948–1969) which had been cancelled due to the illness of the lead actressJessie Matthews.[2] The programme was created by writersJill Hyem and Alan Downer; its origins lay in theirSaturday Night Theatre production ofThe Ropewalk, broadcast onBBC Radio 4 in January 1969.[3] This play featured some of the same characters, actors and theme tune ofWaggoners' Walk with the story centring on three women who share a flat in Hampstead.[4]
Waggoners' Walk was designed to move away from the "cosy" world ofThe Dales and feature "fast-moving stories" and have "few taboo subjects".[5] During its run, the storylines tackled issues such as illegitimacy, homosexuality, abortion, child custody and murder.[6] The first edition was broadcast on the afternoon of 28 April 1969[7] with a repeat the following morning. Early editions were given a title, the first edition billed as "Moving Pictures" for instance, but this was dropped after just three weeks. Initially the programme had an audience of two million listeners[8] but by 1974 was achieving four million.[6]
Most of the storylines involved the tenants of No. 1 Waggoners' Walk, a large townhouse divided into several flats. Other settings included the local pubThe Waggoners, the offices of theHampstead Herald, Minden Road and the nearby Belsize Park. Hyem and Downer continued to produce scripts for the programme throughout its run and were joined by other writers includingPeter Ling,[9]Barbara Clegg and Terry James. The directors includedPiers Plowright, who later became the programme's executive producer,[10]David Spenser,Glyn Dearman,Anton Gill, David Johnston and Kay Patrick.
In 1974, listeners were invited to submit their own plots in a "Write Your Own Storyline Competition",[11] with the winning story submitted by Albert Kenyon broadcast in November 1974.[12]
A Sunday-afternoon omnibus edition was added to the schedule in January 1980, though heard only on Radio 2's medium wave transmitters.
As part of a series of cost-cutting initiatives by the BBC in 1980,Waggoners' Walk came to an abrupt end on 30 May 1980[13][14] with acliffhanger ending in which George Underdown proposes marriage to Sophie Richmond and assures her that "you have all the time in the world" before the closing theme comes in.[15] The Corporation received more than 1,000 letters of protest[16] about the ending of the programme. It rejected a request fromCapital Radio to take it over.[citation needed]
This is a list of some of the main characters that appeared over the 11-year run. In some cases more than one actor played the part.[22][23][24][25]
Mike Nash, ran a PR firm and later became editor of the weekly newspaperThe Hampstead Herald. Mike and Claire owned No. 1 Waggoners' Walk from late 1969 to early 1980, when they moved to Bath. Played byEdward Cast.
Claire Nash, a former fashion model. Played by Ellen McIntosh.
Peter Tyson worked as Personnel Officer at Abercrombies, a central Londondepartment store. After resigning his job he worked part-time at a boatyard. Played byBasil Moss.
Liz Tyson (née Warner), editor of the woman's page of theHampstead Herald, who takes over from Mike Nash as the newspaper's editor in 1980. Played byAnn Morrish.
Arthur Tyson, a widower and father of Peter Tyson. A retired former solicitor and estate agent. Played byLockwood West and also byPeter Pratt andGerald Cross.
Karen, a young firebrand from Birmingham. The Tysons' au pair. Played byFidelis Morgan.
Matt Prior, ranHome from Home, a domestic agency and later a catering supplier, with Lynn Tyson. Following a private aircraft crash in late 1974, he began using a wheelchair. Married Lynn in 1975 and later they opened up a restaurant calledPriors. Played byMichael Spice.
Lynn Prior (née Dixon) initially shared a flat with her sister Tracey and Barbara Watling. Married Peter Tyson in late 1969 and had a son Jeremy in 1972. Following her divorce she married Matt Prior. Played by Judy Franklin.
Mrs Tandy, part-time cleaner for the Nashes. Played by Grizelda Hervey.
Rupert 'Rusty' Vaughan, the original owner of No. 1 Waggoners' Walk until he sold it in late 1969. Continued to occupy the studio flat until December 1972. Played by Nicholas Edmett and later by Derek Seaton
Stan Hickey, who, with his wife Alice, had been a tenant of the basement flat for more than 20 years. Died in 1972. Played byLeslie Dwyer later byEdward Evans.
Alice Hickey, married to Stan and then to Gordon Turner. Played by Hazel Coppen. After her death the character continued played by Hilda Kriseman, Anna Wing and finally Peggy Aitchison.
Gordon Turner owned the local newsagents. Married Alice in 1973. Played by Will Leighton.
Barbara Watling, moved fromHull to flat-share with Lynn and Tracey. Her illegitimate daughter Emma Jane was born in 1973. She married Colin Bartley in 1974 and they both ran an antique shop. Played by Heather Stoney and later by Patricia Gallimore.
Jack Munro, the Canadian nephew of Gordon Turner ran theWaggoners pub and later married Kay Marsh. Played by Rod Beacham and then byMalcolm Terris.
Kay Munro (née Marsh) worked as a barmaid at theWaggoners and married Jack Munro in 1972. Played by Frances Jeater and then byJo Kendall.
Cliff Edwards, married to Shirley. The couple were unable to have children and considered adoption but, after a one-night stand with Debbie Franks in 1979, Cliff became the father to Sam in 1980. Played byAnthony Jackson and also byPeter Messaline and Sion Probert.
George Underdown, a former bank employee who married Kath Miller. After her death he befriends Sophie Richmond and, despite being 30 years her senior, proposes marriage. Played by Alan Dudley.
Sophie Richmond, a waitress atPriors restaurant. In 1979 she is raped by a man she later identifies as a regular customer. Played by Glynis Brooks.
Kath Miller, mother of Shirley Edwards, ran the newsagent's and married George Underdown but died of a heart attack in 1979. Played byCharlotte Mitchell.
Ben Woodhouse, the localGP who later marries Soo-Ming. Played mainly by David Valla and sometimes by Derek Seaton.
Debbie Franks, a reporter on theHampstead Herald. Played by Tara Soppet.
The original theme tune, titled "Bees and Honey", was composed byDerek Hilton under the pseudonym of John Snow.[26][27] Several arrangements of the theme were used throughout the programme's run. In 1971, an EP of songs featured in the programme, including one calledWaggoners' Walk, and credited to Trane, was issued byBBC Records.[28]
^"Saturday-Night Theatre: The Ropewalk".Radio Times. Vol. 182, no. 2356 (London & South East ed.).BBC Publications. 2 January 1969. p. 9. Archived fromthe original on 18 October 2014. Retrieved29 January 2020.The Ropewalk is a stout Edwardian house long since converted into flats situated in a part of London where there is always a fair amount of 'comings and goings.' The play covers the lives of the inhabitants over one weekend – and, most particularly, one coming and one going.
^"Waggoners' Walk NW: Moving Pictures".Radio Times. Vol. 183, no. 2372 (London & South East ed.). BBC Publications. 24 April 1969. p. 20. Archived fromthe original on 18 October 2014. Retrieved29 January 2020.
^"Waggoners' Walk NW".Radio Times. Vol. 205, no. 2663 (London ed.). BBC Publications. 21 November 1974. p. 52. Archived fromthe original on 17 October 2014. Retrieved29 January 2020.Written by Barbara Clegg from a storyline by Albert Kenyon, winner of the Waggoners' Walk 'Write Your Own Storyline' competition.
^"Waggoners' Walk".Radio Times. Vol. 237, no. 2950 (England ed.). BBC Publications. 22 May 1980. p. 70. Archived fromthe original on 19 October 2014. Retrieved29 January 2020.
^"Waggoners' Walk".Radio Times. Vol. 237, no. 2950 (England ed.). BBC Publications. 22 May 1980. p. 50. Archived fromthe original on 19 October 2014. Retrieved29 January 2020.After 11 years the plot continues in this the last week of Waggoners' Walk. Listen to the final episode on Friday 30 May!
^James, Terry (1982) [First published 1980].Waggoners' Walk: The Story Continues. London:Corgi Books. p. 11.ISBN0-552-11927-X.
^BBC Annual Report and Handbook 1982. BBC Publications. 1981. p. 38.ISBN0-563-20049-9.
