Victoria Wood CBE | |
|---|---|
 Wood in 2012 | |
| Born | (1953-05-19)19 May 1953 Prestwich,Lancashire, England |
| Died | 20 April 2016(2016-04-20) (aged 62) |
| Education | University of Birmingham |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1974–2016 |
| Notable work | |
| Style | |
| Spouse | [1] |
| Children | 2 |
| Relatives | Chris Foote Wood (brother) |
| Awards | Seeawards and recognition |
during theBBC Radio 4 programmeDesert Island Discs broadcast 23 December 2007 | |
Victoria Wood (19 May 1953 – 20 April 2016) was an English comedian, actress, musician, screenwriter, and director. Wood wrote and starred in dozens of sketches, plays, musicals, films and sitcoms over several decades, and her live comedy act was interspersed with her own compositions which she performed at the piano. Much of her humour was grounded in everyday life and included references to activities, attitudes and products that are considered to exemplify Britain. She was noted for her skills inobservational comedy and insatirising aspects ofsocial class.[3][4]
Wood started her career in 1974 by appearing on, and winning, theATV talent showNew Faces. She established herself as a comedy star in the 1980s, winning aBAFTA TV Award in 1986 for the sketch seriesVictoria Wood: As Seen on TV (1985–87), and became one of Britain's most popular stand-up comics,[3] winning a second BAFTA forAn Audience with Victoria Wood (1988). In the 1990s, she wrote and co-starred in the television filmPat and Margaret (1994), and the sitcomdinnerladies (1998–2000), which she also produced.[5] She won two moreBAFTA TV Awards, includingBest Actress, for her 2006ITV1 television film,Housewife, 49.[3][4] Her frequent long-term collaborators includedJulie Walters,Celia Imrie,Duncan Preston, andAnne Reid.[3] In 2006, Wood came tenth inITV's poll of the British public's50 Greatest TV Stars.
Victoria Wood was the youngest child of Stanley and Ellen "Nellie" Wood (née Mape).[6] Stanley worked as an insurance salesman, who also wrote songs for his company's Christmas parties, was the author of the musical playClogs (based in aLancashire village in 1887) and wrote part-time forCoronation Street and others.[7][citation needed] She had three siblings: a brother, Chris, and two sisters, Penny and Rosalind.[8]
Wood was born inPrestwich and brought up in nearbyBury.[9] She was educated at Fairfield County Primary School[10] andBury Grammar School for Girls,[11] where she immediately found herself out of her depth.
I was always top of the class, and when I went togrammar school I could not deal with everyone being as clever... I went under. I was a mess, a bit of a misfit. I didn't have any friends, let alone try to be funny...I didn't do any work, didn't have clean clothes and didn't wash. If I didn't have any money I'd steal from people, and if I hadn't done my homework I'd steal someone else's. I was envious of all the groups: the horsey group, the girls who went out with boys, the clever ones. Looking back, I feel really sorry for that little girl.[12]
Wood developedeating disorders, but in 1968, her father gave her a piano for her 15th birthday.[13] She later said of this unhappy time "The good thing about being isolated is you get a good look at what goes on. I was reading, writing and working at the piano all the time. I was doing a lot of other things that helped me to perform."[14] Later that year, she joined the Rochdale Youth Theatre Workshop, where she felt she was "in the right place and knew what I was doing" and she made an impression with her comic skill and skill in writing.[14][15] She went on to study in the Department of Drama and Theatre Arts at theUniversity of Birmingham.[16]
Wood began her show business career while an undergraduate, appearing on the TV talent showNew Faces in 1974.[8] It led to an appearance in a sketch show featuring the series' winnersThe Summer Show.[17] A further break came as a novelty act on theBBC's consumer affairs programmeThat's Life! in 1976. She had met long-term collaboratorJulie Walters in 1971, when Wood applied to theManchester School of Theatre, then part ofManchester Polytechnic.[18] Coincidentally, the pair met again when they appeared in the same theatre revueIn at the Death in 1978 (for which Wood wrote a brief sketch). Its success led to the commissioning of Wood's first playTalent (in 1978), starring Hazel Clyne (in a role originally written for Walters), for which Wood won an award for the Most Promising New Writer.Peter Eckersley, the head of drama atGranada Television, sawTalent and invited Wood to create a television adaptation. This time, Julie Walters took the lead role, while Wood reprised her stage role.[3][19] In 2019,John Lloyd revealed that Wood was offered the female role inNot the Nine O'Clock News, but turned it down.[20]
The success of the television version ofTalent led to Wood writing the follow-upNearly a Happy Ending. Shortly afterwards she wrote a third play for Granada,Happy Since I Met You, again with Walters alongsideDuncan Preston as the male lead. In 1980 she wrote and starred in the stage playGood Fun.[3]
Recognising her talent, Eckersley offered Wood a sketch show, although Wood was unsure of the project: she agreed to go ahead only if Walters received equal billing. Eckersley came up with an obvious title –Wood and Walters,[18] and the pilot episode was recorded. It led to a full series, featuring Duncan Preston and a supporting cast. In the period between the completion of the pilot and the shooting of the series, Eckersley died. Wood credited him with giving her her first big break, and felt thatWood and Walters suffered due to his death.[18] She was not impressed by Brian Armstrong, his fill-in, and was of the opinion that he hired unsuitable supporting actors.[3]
Wood appeared alongside Peter Llewellyn-Jones as an actor/presenter inYorkshire Television's 1984 schools television programme for hearing-impaired children,Insight - a remake of the series originally presented byDerek Griffiths. In 1982 and 1983 she appeared as a panellist on BBC Radio 4'sJust a Minute.
In October 1983 Wood performed her first solo stand-up show,Lucky Bag, in a five-week run at theKing's Head Theatre inIslington. The show transferred to theAmbassadors Theatre for a 12-night run in February 1984.Lucky Bag went on a short UK tour in November and December 1984 and was also released as a live album recorded at the Edinburgh Festival in 1983.[3]
Wood left Granada in 1984 for the BBC, which promised her more creative control over projects. Later that year her sketch showVictoria Wood: As Seen on TV went into production. Wood chose the actors: her friend Julie Walters once again starred, as did Duncan Preston. Wood's friendsCelia Imrie,Susie Blake andPatricia Routledge were in the cast.As Seen on TV featured theAcorn Antiques series of sketches, parodying the low-budget soap operaCrossroads, and rumoured to be named after an antiques shop in her birthplace.Acorn Antiques is remembered for characters such as "Mrs Overall" (played by Walters), the deliberately bad camera angles and wobbling sets, and Celia Imrie's sarcastic tone as "Miss Babs". One of Wood's most popular comic songs,[3] "The Ballad of Barry and Freda (Let's Do It)", originated on this show. It tells the story of Freda (a woman eager for sex) and Barry (an introverted man terrified of intimate relations), and makes clever use of allusions to a multitude of risqué activities while avoiding all taboo words.[21]
Following the success of the first series ofVictoria Wood: As Seen on TV, Wood went on tour again withLucky Bag in March 1985.Scene, a documentary for BBC2 later that year, showed footage of Wood preparing for the tour and clips of her performing the show at Derby Assembly Rooms.
A second series ofVictoria Wood: As Seen on TV was made in 1986. Before filming began in the summer, Wood went on a 22-date tour of England and Scotland during March and April. A final 'Special' 40-minute episode ofAs Seen on TV was made in 1987 and broadcast later that year.
During autumn 1987 Wood went on the road with what was to be her largest tour yet. The tour included a sell-out two-week run at theLondon Palladium, and had a second leg in the spring of 1988.
In 1988 she appeared in theBAFTA-winningAn Audience with Victoria Wood forITV. At the time of recording the show she was six months pregnant. The end of 1988 saw the release of her second live albumVictoria Wood Live, recorded at the Brighton Dome.[3]
Wood recorded two songs for the 1985 movieReturn to Oz. Neither we used in the final release.
During this period Wood moved away from the sketch show format and into more self-contained works, often with a bittersweet flavour.Victoria Wood (six parts, 1989) featured Wood in several individual stories such as "We'd Quite Like To Apologise", set in an airport departure lounge, and "Over to Pam", set around a fictional talk show.[22]
In May 1990, Wood began a large sell-out tour of the United Kingdom, which was followed by a ten-week run at theStrand Theatre in London titledVictoria Wood Up West. Wood took the show on the road again during March and April 1991, where it was recorded at theMayflower Theatre in Southampton, and later released asVictoria Wood Sold Out in 1991.[3][23]
In 1991, she appeared on the Comic Relief single performing "The Smile Song", the flipside to "The Stonk" (a record by ITV comediansGareth Hale andNorman Pace with charity supergroup The Stonkers).[24][25][26] AUK number-one single for one week on 23 March 1991, the record was the UK's 22nd-best-selling single of the year. However, even though it was a joint-single (with "The Smile Song" credited on the front of the single cover[27] and listed as track 2 on the seven-inch and CD single rather than being a B-side), the UK singles chart compilers (now the Official Charts Company) did not credit her with having number one hit, in a situation similar to the fate of BAD II's "Rush", the AA-side of the preceding number one, "Should I Stay or Should I Go" byThe Clash.
She briefly returned to sketches for the 1992 Christmas Day specialVictoria Wood's All Day Breakfast, and also branched out into children's animation, voicing all the characters for theCBBC seriesPuppydog Tales.[28]
In April 1993, Wood began a seven-month tour of the UK. The 104-date tour broke box office records, including 15 sell out shows at London's Royal Albert Hall, and played to residencies in Sheffield, Birmingham, Plymouth, Bristol, Nottingham, Manchester, Leicester, Liverpool, Bournemouth, Oxford, Southampton, Newcastle, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Leeds and Hull.[3][29]
The television filmPat and Margaret (1994), starring Wood and Julie Walters as long-lost sisters with very different lifestyles, continued her return to stand-alone plays with a poignant undercurrent to the comedy.[30]
On Christmas Day 1994, Wood starred in the one-off BBC 50-minute programme based on her 1993/94 stage showVictoria Wood: Live in Your Own Home. The special featured stand-up routines, character monologues and songs.[31][32] An extended 80 minute version was released on VHS.
Wood went on a 68-date sell-out tour of the UK between May - October 1996, which played at venues in Leicester, Sheffield, Ipswich, Blackpool, Wolverhampton, Bradford, Newcastle, Bournemouth, Brighton, Nottingham, Oxford, Southend, Manchester and Cambridge. The tour culminated with another 15 sell-out shows at London's Royal Albert Hall in the autumn. The tour recommenced in April 1997 in Liverpool, also taking in Reading, Birmingham, Bristol, Halifax, Glasgow, Portsmouth, Edinburgh and Aberdeen. Wood then took the show to Australia and New Zealand during July and August. It was later released asVictoria Wood Live 1997 filmed at the High Wycombe Swan Theatre during the tours final shows in September.[3][32]
In October 1997, Wood released a compilation of 14 of her songs titledVictoria Wood, Real Life The Songs.[3]
Her first sitcomdinnerladies (1998), continued her now established milieu of mostly female, mostly middle-aged characters depicted vividly and amusingly, but with a counterpoint of sadder themes.[33]
December 2000 saw the Christmas sketch show specialVictoria Wood with All the Trimmings, featuring her regular troupe of actors as well as a string of special guest stars includingHugh Laurie,Angela Rippon,Bob Monkhouse,Bill Paterson,Delia Smith andRoger Moore.
2001 saw Wood embark on her final stand-up tour,Victoria Wood at It Again but was postponed slightly by Wood having to have an emergencyhysterectomy shortly before the tour was due to begin. She re-wrote the entire first half of the show and incorporated the operation into her act. The 85-date tour included another residency at theRoyal Albert Hall and finished in April 2002.[3][32]
During this period, Wood tended to move away from comedy to concentrate on drama. She continued to produce one-off specials includingVictoria Wood's Sketch Show Story (2002) andVictoria Wood's Big Fat Documentary (2005).[34][35]
Wood wrote her first musical,Acorn Antiques: The Musical!, which opened in 2005 at theTheatre Royal, Haymarket, London, for a limited period, directed byTrevor Nunn. It starred several of the original cast, withSally Ann Triplett playing Miss Berta (played in the series by Wood). Wood played Julie Walters' lead role ofMrs Overall for Monday and Wednesday matinee performances.[36][37]
Wood wrote the one-offITV serious dramaHousewife, 49 (2006), an adaptation of the diaries ofNella Last, and played the eponymous role of an introverted middle-aged character who discovers new confidence and friendships in Lancashire during theSecond World War.Housewife, 49 was critically acclaimed, and Wood wonBAFTAs for both her acting and writing for this drama; a rare double.[38] The film also starredStephanie Cole and David Threlfall as well as, in a small role,Sue Wallace with whom Wood had worked before and studied alongside at Birmingham.
In November 2006, Wood directed a revival production ofAcorn Antiques: The Musical! with a new cast. The musical opened atthe Lowry inSalford in December and toured the United Kingdom from January to July 2007.[39]
In January 2007, she appeared as herself in a series of advertisements featuring famous people working for the supermarket chainAsda. They featured Wood working in the bakery and introduced a catchphrase – "there's no place like ASDA".[40] Wood was the subject of an episode ofThe South Bank Show in March 2007, and is the only woman to be the subject of twoSouth Bank programmes (the previous occasion was in September 1996).[41]
Wood appeared in a three-part travel documentary onBBC One calledVictoria's Empire, in which she travelled around the world in search of the history, cultural impact and customs theBritish Empire placed on the parts of the world it ruled. She departed Victoria Station, London, forCalcutta, Hong Kong andBorneo in the first programme. In programme two she visitedGhana,Jamaica andNewfoundland and in the final programme,New Zealand, Australia andZambia, finishing at theVictoria Falls.[42]
In a tribute to Wood, the British television stationUKTV Gold celebrated her work with a weekend marathon of programmes between 3 and 4 November 2007, featuring programmes such asVictoria Wood Live anddinnerladies andVictoria Wood: As Seen on TV – its first screening on British television since 1995.
Wood returned to stand-up comedy, with a special performance for the celebratory showHappy Birthday BAFTA on 28 October 2007, alongside other household names. The programme was transmitted onITV1 on Wednesday 7 November 2007.[43] On Boxing Day 2007 she appeared as "Nana" in the Granada dramatisation ofNoel Streatfeild's novelBallet Shoes.[44]
In December 2007, when a guest on the radio programmeDesert Island Discs, Wood said she was about to make her first foray into film, writing a script described as a contemporary comedy about a middle-aged person. On Thursday, 12 June 2008, Wood was a member of the celebrity guest panel on the seriesThe Apprentice: You're Fired! on BBC Two. In June 2009, she appeared as a panellist on the first two episodes of a series ofI'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue.
In 2009, Wood provided the voice ofGod forLiberace, Live From Heaven byJulian Woolford at London'sLeicester Square Theatre. Wood returned to television comedy for a one-off Christmas sketch-show special, her first for nine years,Victoria Wood's Mid Life Christmas, transmitted on BBC One at 21:00 on Christmas Eve 2009.[45] It reunited Wood with Julie Walters inLark Pies to Cranchesterford, a spoof of BBC period dramasLark Rise to Candleford,Little Dorrit andCranford; a spoof documentary,Beyond the Marigolds, followingAcorn Antiques star Bo Beaumont (Walters); highlights from theMid Life Olympics 2009 with Wood as the commentator; parodies of personal injury advertisements; and a reprise of Wood's most famous song "The Ballad of Barry and Freda" ("Let's Do It"), performed as a musical number with tap-dancers and a band.Victoria Wood: Seen On TV, a 90-minute documentary looking back on her career, was broadcast on BBC Two on 21 December, whilst a behind-the-scenes special programme aboutMidlife Christmas,Victoria Wood: What Larks!, was broadcast on BBC One on 30 December.
On New Year's Day 2011, Wood appeared in a BBC dramaEric and Ernie asEric Morecambe's mother, Sadie Bartholomew.[46]
For the 2011Manchester International Festival, Wood wrote, composed and directedThat Day We Sang,[47] a musical set in 1969 withflashbacks to 1929. It tells the story of a middle-aged couple who find love after meeting on a TV programme about a choir they both sang in 40 years previously. Although the characters are imaginary, the choir sang with theHallé Youth Orchestra[48] in Manchester'sFree Trade Hall on a record that sold more than a million copies. Apart from the pieces on the 1929 recording (Purcell's "Nymphs and Shepherds" and the Evening Benediction fromHansel and Gretel) the score for the musical was written by Wood.[49][50] She also narrated the 2012 miniseriesThe Talent Show Story.[51]
On 22 December 2012, Wood was a guest onBBC Radio 2's Saturday morningGraham Norton Show.[52] On 23 DecemberBBC One screenedLoving Miss Hatto, a drama written by Wood about the life of concert pianistJoyce Hatto, the centre of a scandal over the authenticity of her recordings and her role in the hoax.[53] In April 2013, Wood produced a documentary about the history of tea namedVictoria Wood's Nice Cup of Tea.[54] In 2013 she played retired constable-turned-security-guard Tracy in BBC Scotland'sCase Histories starringJason Isaacs.[55] She appeared in an episode ofQI, broadcast on 13 December 2013,[56] and around the same time made two return appearances onI'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue during the show's 60th series in which she joined in the gameOne song to the tune of Another, singing theBob the Builder theme "Can We Fix It?" to the tune of "I Dreamed a Dream".[57] In March 2014, Wood voiced the TV advertisement for the tour of the old set ofCoronation Street. On 5 December 2014 Wood was a guest on BBC'sThe Graham Norton Show.[58][59] On 26 December 2014, a television movie adaptation ofThat Day We Sang, directed by Wood, starringMichael Ball andImelda Staunton, was shown onBBC Two.[60]
In early 2015, Wood took part in a celebrity version ofThe Great British Bake Off forComic Relief and was crowned Star Baker in her episode.[61] She co-starred withTimothy Spall inSky television's three-part television adaptation ofFungus the Bogeyman, which was first shown on 27, 28 & 29 December 2015,[62] her final acting role.
Wood was known for using many of the same actors in her projects, which comedianTiff Stevenson later described as "this core of people who she knew she worked well with, and why would [she] want to walk away from that?" Duncan Preston said of these recurring appearances, "I wouldn't say that we were her favourite actors; I think we were like a company that she had."[63] Celia Imrie commented that Wood's "team" approach "meant that we could work together very fast."[64] An overview of these recurring cast members is shown below:
| Actor | As Seen on TV | Victoria Wood | All Day Breakfast | Pat and Margaret | dinnerladies | With All the Trimmings | Mid Life Christmas |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kay Adshead |  Recurring | 1 episode | Guest | ||||
| Susie Blake | Regular | 2 episodes | | | |||
| Jim Broadbent | Recurring | 1 episode | |||||
| Deborah Grant | Recurring | 1 episode | | ||||
| Philip Lowrie | 2 episodes | | | ||||
| Celia Imrie | Regular | 3 episodes | | | Regular | | |
| Duncan Preston | Regular | 1 episode | | | Regular | ||
| Anne Reid | Guest | 2 episodes | | Regular | | ||
| Lill Roughley | Recurring | 4 episodes | | Guest | |||
| Julie Walters | Regular | 3 episodes | | | Recurring | | |
| Year | Title | Role | Is Writer? | Type | 1st aired Date | 1st aired Channel | Runtime | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Becoming Victoria Wood | Self | Documentary | January 9th 2026 | Cinema | 90 minutes | in memoriam | |
| 2020 | Victoria Wood's Secret List | TV Series | December 25th 2020, December 26th 2020 | BBC Two | 2x 60 minutes | in memoriam. Sketches handpicked by Wood. With insight from friends and fans, rare & unseen footage. | ||
| 2017 | Our Friend Victoria | April 11th 2017 - December 23rd 2017 | BBC One | 6x 30 minutes + 39 minutes (Christmas Special) | in memoriam[65] Age, People, Sex, Appearance, Television, At Christmas | |||
| 2015 | The Great Comic Relief Bake Off | Self (Contestant) | March 4th 2015 | BBC Two | 60 minutes | |||
| Fungus the Bogeyman | Actor (Snotsoup) | December 27th 2015 - December 29th 2015 | Sky One | 67 minutes, 60 minutes, 43 minutes | all 3 Episodes | |||
| 2014 | The Graham Norton Show | Self (Guest) | TV Talk Show | December 5th 2014 | BBC One | 50 minutes | 1 Episode. WithKeaton,McKellen,One Direction. also appeared twice onNorton's Radio 2 show | |
| Victoria Wood: That Musical we Made | Self | Yes | Documentary | December 26th 2014 | BBC Two | 60 minutes | Making ofThat Day We Sang | |
| That Day We Sang | Director | Screenplay | December 26th 2014 | 90 minutes | Last Major Work. FeaturingMichael Ball &Imelda Staunton. Featured atManchester International Festival. | |||
| 2013 | A Nice Cup of Tea | Self | Documentary | April 10th 2013 - April 11th 2013 | BBC One | 2x 60 minutes | [66] | |
| Case Histories | Actor (Tracy) | TV Series | May 19th 2013 | 90 minutes | 1 Episode | |||
| QI | Self (Guest) | December 13th 2013 | 30 minutes | 1 Episode | ||||
| 2012 | Loving Miss Hatto | Executive Producer | Yes | TV Movie | December 23rd 2012 | |||
| Ruddy Hell! It's Harry & Paul | Self (Guest) | TV Series | November 11th 2012 | 3x 30 minutes | 3 Episodes | |||
| Bring me Morecambe and Wise | Self (Narrator) | November 21st 2012 | GOLD | 5x 60 minutes | all 5 episodes | |||
| 2011 | The Borrowers | Actor (Granny Driver) | TV Movies | December 16th 2011 | BBC One | 90 minutes | ||
| Comic Relief: Red Nose Day 2011 | Actor (Mrs Crawler) | Yes | TV Special | March 18th 2011 | 7 minutes & 9 minutes | Downton Abbey Sketch (2 parts) | ||
| Eric & Ernie | Actor (Sadie Bartholemew) | TV Movie | January 1st 2011 | BBC Two | 90 minutes | |||
| 2010 | Victoria Wood'sLittle Cracker | Self, Director | TV Series | December 25th 2010 | Sky One | 15 minutes | 1 Episode | |
| The Angina Monologues | Self | Stand-up | December 12th 2010 | DVD | 39 minutes | forBritish Heart Foundation | ||
| 2009 | Victoria Wood: What Larks! | Actor | TV Movie | late 2009 | BBC One | 44 minutes | Also Known As "What I Did on My Holidays"[67] Making ofMidlife Christmas | |
| Victoria Wood'sMidlife Christmas | Self | TV Special | December 24th 2009 | 60 minutes | Christmas Special | |||
| 2008 | The Apprentice: You're fired! | Self (Guest) | TV Series | June 11th 2008 | BBC Three | 30 minutes | 1 Episode | |
| 2007 | Ballet Shoes | Actor (Nana) | TV Movie | December 26th 2007 | BBC One | 85 minutes | ||
| Happy Birthday BAFTA | Self | Yes | Stand-up | October 28th 2007 | 90 minutes | segements within the show | ||
| Clive James: Talking in the Library | Self (Guest) | TV Series | September 19th 2007 | Artsworld | 30 minutes | 1 Episode. Interview | ||
| Victoria's Empire | Self | Yes | Documentary | April 29th 2007 | BBC One | 3x 60 minutes | ||
| 1987, 2007 | ASDA adverts | Actor | TV adverts | 1987, 2007 | British TV Advert | 30 seconds, 1 minute | The 1987 ad also featuresJulie Walters | |
| 2006 | Dawn French's Girls Who Do Comedy | Self (Guest) | TV Series | December 29th 2006 | BBC Four | 30 minutes | 1 Episode Interview | |
| 2005 | What ITV Did For Me | Self | TV Series | September 20th 2005 | ITV1 | 120 minutes | Interview | |
| The League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse | Actor (Queen Mary II) | Movie | June 3rd 2005 | Cinema | 92 minutes | Cameo | ||
| Victoria Wood: A BAFTA Tribute | Self (Guest) | TV Special | February 5t 2005 | BBC Two | 60 minutes | |||
| Acorn Antiques: The Musical! | Actor (Bo Beaumont) | Yes | Screenplay | January 27th 2005 (Stage) March 13th 2006 (DVD) | West End,DVD | 157 minutes | PlayedMrs Overall on Bingo Nights | |
| Housewife, 49 | Actor (Nella Last) | TV Movie | December 10th 2006 | ITV1 | 95 minutes | |||
| 2004 | Victoria Wood's Big Fat Documentary | Self | Documentary | January 9th 2004 - January 16th 2004 | BBC One | 2x 60 minutes | ||
| 2001 | Victoria Wood: Victoria at the Albert - Live | Stand-up | November 25th 2002 | DVD | 108 minutes | "at it again" tour.Royal Albert Hall's record for most shows in a run by any comedian and any female performer[68] | ||
| Victoria Wood's Sketch Show Story | Self | Documentary | October 25th 2001 - November 1st 2001 | BBC Two | 2x 30 minutes | |||
| 2000 | Victoria Wood with All the Trimmings | Actor | TV Special | 25th December 2000 | BBC One | 52 minutes | Christmas Special | |
| Don't Panic! TheDad's Army Story | Self | TV Special | May 28th 2000 at 6:40pm | 39 minutes | [69] | |||
| 1999 | The Nearly Complete and Utter History of Everything | Actor (Hairdresser) | TV Special | January 2nd 2000 | 50 minutes | FeaturingThora Hird | ||
| Shaggy Dog Story | Actor (Brenda Furlong) | TV Promo | December 25th 1999 | BBC | 3 minutes | Promo forChildren In Need | ||
| 1998-2000 | dinnerladies | Actor (Brenda Furlong), Producer | Yes | TV Sitcom | November 12th 1998 - January 27th 2000 | BBC One | 16x 30 minutes | |
| 1998 | Best Of British | Self | Documentary | November 11th 1998 | 39 minutes | 1 Episode. Documentary on Wood's life | ||
| 1997 | Victoria Wood: Live | Self | Yes | Stand-up | November 13th 1997 | 97 minutes | [70] | |
| Heroes of Comedy | Self | TV Series | Channel 4 | Features in 5 episodes but not the subject of the show | ||||
| 1996, 2007 | The South Bank Show | TV Series | September 15th 1996, March 11th 2007 | ITV1 | 2x 60 minutes | Making Wood the first female subject of two South Bank Shows | ||
| 1996 | The Wind in the Willows | Actor (The tea lady) | Movie | October 11th 1996 | Cinema | 88 minutes | released on VHS and DVD as Mr. Toad's Wild Ride in theUnited States | |
| Great Railway Journeys | Self | Yes | TV Series | November 21st 1996 | BBC Two | 60 minutes | 1 Episode - Crewe to Crewe | |
| 1995 | Victoria Wood's Dawn | Actress | TV Special | Match 17th 1885 | BBC One | 5 minutes | FeatDawn French | |
| 1994 | Victoria Wood: Live in Your Own Home | Sell | TV Special | December 25th 1994 | 80 minutes | VHS release first on October 31st 1994 | ||
| Pat and Margaret | Actor | TV Movie | September 11th 1994 | 90 minutes | ||||
| 1992 | Victoria Wood's All Day Breakfast | Actor (Sally Cumbernauld) | TV Special | December 20th 1992 | 50 minutes | Christmas Special | ||
| 1991 | Julie Walters & Friends | Actor | TV Sitcom | December 29th 1991 | ITV1 | 60 minutes | WithAlan Bennett | |
| Victoria Wood: Sold Out | Self | Stand-up | January 1st 1991 | ITV1,VHS | ||||
| Comic Relief | TV Special | March 15th 1991 | BBC One | 395 minutes | Uncredited | |||
| Anytime Tales | Narrator | Children's TV Series | January 13th 1993 | CBBC | 5 minutes | Features in 1 of 10 short stories[71] | ||
| 1988 | Aspel And Company | Guest | TV Talk Show | April 2nd 1988, June 20th 1993 | ITV1 | 30-60 minutes | 2 Episodes. WithHarry Enfield &Dolly Parton & withKate Bush &Lenny Henry | |
| 1984-1998 | Jackanory | Storyteller | Children's TV Series | January 17th 1984 | BBC One | 16x 15 minutes | 16 Episodes | |
| 1989 | Victoria Wood | Self, Creator | Yes | TV Sitcom | November 19th 1989 | BBC One | 10-50 minutes, 108 minutes | 6 one-off sitcoms and a Christmas special: Mens Sana in Thingummy Doodah, The Library, Over to Pam, We'd quite like to apologise, Val de Ree (Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha), Staying in, The Ballad of Fatty Arbuckle |
| Puppydog Tales | Scriptwriter, Narrator | Children's TV Series | September 17th 1992 | Knowledge Network,Canada first thenBBC | 13x 5 minutes | all 13 episodes | ||
| 1988 | An Audience with Victoria Wood | Self | TV Special | December 10th 1988 | ITV1 | 55 minutes | ||
| Comic Relief | Actor (Joan) | February 5th 1988 | BBC One | 30 minutes | "Wood, Walters... and Wise" segment within full show | |||
| 1985 | Acorn Antiques | Actor (Berta) | TV Series | January 11th 1985 | BBC Two (withinAs Seen On TV) | 12x 5 minutes | ||
| 1985-1987 | Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV | Self, Actor, Composer | Sketch Show | January 11th 1985 | BBC Two | 12x 30 minutes, 40 minutes | 2 seasons of 6 episodes each plus Christmas Special. Wood's first work for the BBC | |
| 1984 | Insight | Presenter/Wordwitch | Educational | February 1984 - June 1984 | ITV Schools | 18x 15 minutes | 18 Episode | |
| 1981-1982 | Wood & Walters | Actor, Self | Yes | TV Series | January 1st 1982 | ITV1 | 8x 30 minutes | |
| 1981 | Happy Since I Met You | Screenplay | August 9th 1981 | 50 minutes | ||||
| 1980 | Nearly a Happy Ending | January 11th 1985 | 85 minutes | Sequel toTalent | ||||
| 1979 | Talent | Actor (Maureen) | August 5th 1979 | 65 minutes | First time Wood & Walters worked together on TV | |||
| 1977 | Pandora's Box | Self | TV Series | 1977 | BBC One | 6x 30 minutes | all 6 episodes. Six half-hour discussions about justice, education and health, with just women on the panel. | |
| 1976 | That's Life! | Guest Musician | March 21st 1976 - May 2nd 1976 | 3x 5 minutes | 3 Episode | |||
| 1975 | The Summer Show | Self | Sketch Show | August 2nd 1975 | ATV | 45 minutes | Featured Wood alongside the winners ofNew Faces. | |
| 1974 | New Faces | TV talent show | October 12th 1974 | 30 minutes | [8] |
In 1979, Wood received theCharles Wintour Award for Most Promising Playwright at theEvening Standard Theatre Awards for her playTalent.[72]
In 1996, the BBC celebrated its 60th anniversary with an awards ceremony titledAuntie's All Time Greats. In it,As Seen on TV beatMonty Python's Flying Circus for "Favourite Comedy Series". It beat the same show again when it won 'best sketch show' in theRadio Times Comedy Poll in 2001.
In 1997, Wood was appointed anOfficer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the1997 Birthday Honours.[73] Earlier in 1994, she was made an honoraryDoctor of Letters by theUniversity of Sunderland.[74] She was appointed aCommander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the2008 Birthday Honours.[75]
In 2003, she was listed inThe Observer as one of the50 Funniest Acts in British Comedy.[76] In the 2005Channel 4 poll theComedians' Comedian, she was voted 27th[77] out of the top 50 comedy acts by fellow comedians and comedy insiders. She was the highest-ranked woman on the list, aboveFrench and Saunders (who paid tribute to her in theirLord of the Rings spoof, where a map of Middle-Earth shows a forest called 'Victoria Wood'),Joan Rivers andJoyce Grenfell.[78]
Her sketch showVictoria Wood: As Seen on TV wonBAFTA awards for its two series and Christmas Special.[79] In 2007, she was nominated[80] for and won[81] theBAFTA awards for "Best Actress" and for "Best Single Drama" for her role in the British war-time dramaHousewife, 49, in which she played the part of a housewife dominated by her moody husband. Wood's character eventually stands up to him and helps the WRVS (Women's Royal Voluntary Service) in their preparations for British soldiers.
Her popularity with the British public was confirmed when she won 'Best Stand-Up' and 'Best Sketch Show' byRadio Times readers in 2001.[82] Wood was also voted 'Funniest Comedian' by the readers ofReader's Digest in 2005[83] and came eighth in ITV's poll of the public's50 Greatest Stars, four places behind long term regular co-starJulie Walters. In 1996,The South Bank Show opened their 20th season with Wood, describing her as "Britains first female stand up comedian".
Wood was the recipient of sixBritish Comedy Awards: Best stand-up live comedy performer (1990); Best female comedy performer (1995);WGGB Writer of the year (2000); Best live stand-up (2001); Outstanding achievement award (jointly awarded to Julie Walters) (2005); Best female TV comic (2011).[84] Wood was nominated for the 1991Olivier Award for Best Entertainment forVictoria Wood Up West and for the 2006Olivier Award for Best New Musical forAcorn Antiques: The Musical!.
Wood was a 14-timeBAFTA TV Award nominee, winning four. She received a special BAFTA at a tribute evening in 2005.[85]
| Year | Award | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Best Light Entertainment Performance | Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV | Won |
| 1987 | Nominated | ||
| 1988 | Nominated | ||
| 1989 | An Audience With Victoria Wood | Won | |
| 1990 | Victoria Wood | Nominated | |
| 1995 | Best Actress | Pat and Margaret | Nominated |
| Best Single Drama | Nominated | ||
| Best Light Entertainment Performance | Victoria Wood: Live in Your Own Home | Nominated | |
| 1999 | Best Comedy Programme or Series | dinnerladies | Nominated |
| 2000 | Best Situation Comedy | Nominated | |
| 2001 | Best Comedy Programme or Series | Victoria Wood with All the Trimmings | Nominated |
| 2007 | Best Actress | Housewife, 49 | Won |
| Best Single Drama | Won | ||
| 2011 | Eric and Ernie | Nominated |
Wood married the stage magicianGeoffrey Durham in March 1980. They had two children: Grace, born 1 October 1988 and Henry, born 2 May 1992. The couple separated in October 2002[86] and divorced in 2005, but continued to live near one another and were on good terms.[87] Henry made a cameo performance as a teenager inVictoria Wood's Mid Life Christmas. He also appeared in the accompanying 'behind the scenes' programmeVictoria Wood: What Larks!. Both children had already made appearances as extras onVictoria Wood with All the Trimmings in 2000.
Wood attendedQuakermeetings[88] with her husband and was a vegetarian, once remarking, "I'm all for killing animals and turning them into handbags; I just don't want to have to eat them."[3][89]
Wood received a diagnosis ofoesophageal cancer in late 2015, but kept her illness largely private.[90] She died on 20 April 2016 at herHighgate home, in the presence of her children and sister Rosalind.[91] Her funeral was conducted by ahumanist celebrant atGolders Green Crematorium on 4 May 2016.[92] Amemorial service was held atSt James, Piccadilly on 4 July 2016.[93]
On 15 May 2016,ITV broadcastLet's Do It: A Tribute to Victoria Wood. In 2017, Wood was the subject of a seven-part show dedicated mainly to extracts from her TV and live work. The main series, titledOur Friend Victoria, aired onBBC One between 11 April and 9 May and concluded later in the year with a Christmas special on 23 December 2017. The seven episodes were presented byJulie Walters,Richard E. Grant,Michael Ball,Maxine Peake,The League of Gentlemen,Daniel Rigby andAnne Reid. On 17 May 2019, a statue of Wood was unveiled in her home town of Bury in Lancashire.[94][95]
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