Linda Green

Confident, fun and flirty, Linda Green is the sort of mate we'd all like to have. Liza Tarbuck stars as the working-class girl with a huge lust for life and string of ill-fated relationships in a series of ten half-hour dramas from the BBC.

WRITTEN BY
Paul Abbott (eps. 1, 2, 6, 8, 9 & 10),
Catherine Johnson (eps. 3),
Daniel Brocklehurst (eps 4, 7),
Russell T Davies (ep.5)

STARRING
Rachel Davies, John Donnelly, Christopher Eccleston, Pam Ferris, Sean Gallagher, Dave Hill, David Morrissey, Claire Rushbrook, Liza Tarbuck and Jimmy Tarbuck

DIRECTED BY
Syd McCartney (eps. 1-4, 8 &10)
Beryl Richards (eps.5, 6, 7 & 9)

PRODUCERS
Nicola Shindler (eps. 1-4, 8 &10) and Matthew Bird (eps.5, 6, 7 & 9)
Made by Red Production Company for BBC1

Beginnings

Written by PAUL ABBOTT (the BAFTA and RTS award-winning creator of Clocking Off), produced by Red Production Company (the creators of Queer as Folk), and starring LIZA TARBUCK in the title role, LINDA GREEN sits right at the heart of BBC1's new drama schedule this autumn. Originally conceived as a series of six half-hour dramas, the BBC were so impressed with the rough-cuts of the first two episodes that they immediately extended the series to ten episodes - with plans for a further ten in the pipeline. JANE TRANTER, Drama Commissioner at the BBC explains: "When we looked at the first two episodes, the immediacy, audacity and sheer sense of fun of the series was so apparent that we decided an initial run of six episodes would not be enough to introduce audiences to LINDA GREEN."

LINDA GREEN is a prime example of a new direction in the BBC's drama output, as Jane explains: "We want to give BBC drama a stronger flavour of the way that we live our lives now, a stronger sense of modernity. As far as the subject matter is concerned, this show is an important step forward for the BBC. It is a completely down to earth piece of drama, grounded in absolute reality - and that is one of the directions that BBC drama is currently moving in."

Comparing it to The Royle Family, Jane explains that LINDA GREEN is "the most mainstream way in which this particular kind of drama / entertainment / comedy cross-over has been tackled by the BBC. As far as I am concerned it has one of the most impressive declarations of intent that you can ever get from a drama series. The characters are so clear; Linda's character is written large right from the start - female viewers will want her to be their best mate, whilst blokes will want to buy her a pint in the pub."

The Concept

Taking its lead from US shows like Roseanne and Rhoda, LINDA GREEN is based around the life of a sassy central female character (LIZA TARBUCK) and features a strong supporting cast of friends and family, including series regulars Michelle (CLAIRE RUSHBROOK), Darren (DANIEL RYAN) and Jimmy (SEAN GALLAGHER), with guest appearances from CHRISTOPHER ECCLESTON, DAVID MORRISSEY, JOHN DONNELLY, PAM FERRIS and JIMMY TARBUCK in individual episodes. "This is a show that PAUL ABBOTT and I have been wanting to make for ages," says NICOLA SHINDLER, the show's producer. "We originally started talking about Rhoda, a show with an interesting central female character who had funny people around her. Beyond that the project became very much Paul's baby."

Each episode is a complete story in itself, with the relationships between the characters developing throughout the series. Despite its half-hour format, it's a drama not a sitcom - the comedy being character-driven rather than situational. Series creator PAUL ABBOTT explains: "I admire the sort of American shows that have single name, titular stars. These formats allow writers to do anything they like within the lives of their central characters, giving a more flexible approach to storytelling."

Like previous series from Red Production Company (Queer as Folk and Clocking Off), LINDA GREEN is firmly set in the North West of England. It is a world that series creator PAUL ABBOTT knows well. Born and brought-up in Burnley, Paul's mother used to manage a social club like the one featured in the series. "I spent Sunday afternoons in the club, sitting with a glass of flat orange and a bag of crisps watching adults get pissed," he says. Consequently he knows all the characters in LINDA GREEN from observation.

As for the show's eponymous heroine, she's also firmly rooted in reality. "Linda's based on a mate of mine who's touching 40 and refusing to acknowledge any of the usual restraints that touching 40 brings," Paul says. "She still tries to chat up 19 year-old barmen at an age when many would expect her to have settled down."

Describing the character of Linda as a "blue collar Bridget Jones", Paul has created a comedy drama about a 30-something woman who's not obsessed with having children and settling down - a girl who loves the single life and has a healthy and humorous attitude towards sex and relationships. It is Linda's adventures and misadventures in a string of crazy relationships that drives the drama and from which the bulk of the show's comedy derives. As a result, audiences can look forward to a more frank and honest approach to sex than they might usually expect from the BBC. "It is very rude - delightfully so," says JANE TRANTER, "but it's just showing life as most of us can recognise it. Ninety percent of what Linda and her mates do is absolutely recognisable."

Audiences shouldn't tune in expecting to see acres of bare flesh, however. "It's very hard to get actors to talk about robust sex and to demonstrate it, so it was always going to be a bit more coy than that," explains Paul. "We never needed explicit sex - you understand that Linda's getting a good lay because it comes out in the way she makes coffee at work."

Never one to shirk a challenge, Paul was excited by the project for two reasons: firstly, he'd never written a comedy before and, secondly, he'd not written such a large part for a woman. The world he creates in LINDA GREEN gravitates around the character of Linda, and is largely seen through her eyes. "It is a challenge." Paul admits, "but once you're a fairly skilled writer you head for characters that you find difficult to write in order to stetch yourself. Writing a drama with a female lead and writing comedy were two brand new territories for me."

Visit the BBC Linda Green Site