Clegg's wife- Linda Davidson interview at firstofthesummerwine.wordpress.com

L

L. Grey

New Member
Hello all,

When watching FOTSW I did get the sneaking suspicion that Anita (Pillsworth?) was supposed to be Clegg's future wife, particularly given her tendency for 'taking him in hand' and trying to force him into 'self-improvement' activities, but scotched the notion because Clegg's wife was named 'Edith', as far as I was concerned. Now I see that, in an interview with Linda Davidson, who played Anita, the character was indeed supposed to have married Clegg. Since all through LOTSW we are only told that Clegg was 'married for 30 years' and references only indicate he was married the once, how does this concept square with people's views of Clegg's marriage? Perhaps Edith was her middle name, that she preferred to use? :21: I guess this might be attributable to the fact that, as often observed here, consistency in (admittedly more minor) story points was not a central preoccupation for the production team, or Linda Davidson might be misremembering (although on such an essential point for the character it's doubtful). Just thought I'd see what the knowledgeable folks here made of this!

https://firstofthesummerwine.wordpress.com/linda-davidson-on-playing-anita/
 
There are lots of inconsistencies in both series. In Last Of... Cleggs dad was said to have worked for British Rail but in First Of... he's a painter also its said in Last Of... several times that Compo never worked but he worked for the Co-Op in First Of.. I call it artistic licence, we just have to accept that it's not perfect in the detail but we love it anyway :)
 
In his book Alan Bell is pretty critical with how FOTSW was done. It's clear he didn't get along with Gareth Gwenlan, who was head of BBC Comedy at the time and who took direct control of the show, including directing the pilot. I get the impression Bell expected to run FOTSW himself and was unhappy it wasn't given to him. There were other conflicts between Bell and Gwenlan at the time, including an effort to reduce Bell to director role only on LOTSW.

As noted there are quite a few inconsistencies between the two shows and this is likely because Gwenlan and others went against what even Clarke wanted. Not only was Cleggs wife supposed to be named Edith, she was also supposed to be heavy and unattractive. You even see a wedding photo of his wife in an early episode (Hail Smiling Morn . . . if I recall correctly). Clearly that got thrown out the window too by those who decided to cast all young and attractive actors for the series regulars.
 
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It seems to me Alan JW Bell was very under-used.

Without looking anything up, the only significant work he did was LOTSW, Ripping Yarns, Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy, Wyatt's Watchdogs and editing Ronnie Barker's By the Sea.

I can't understand why he wasn't used for more shows, especially anything with lots of exterior scenes and drama.

He seemed to me the obvious choice for Still Open All Hours, but didn't get it.
 
wstol said:
It seems to me Alan JW Bell was very under-used.

Without looking anything up, the only significant work he did was LOTSW, Ripping Yarns, Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy, Wyatt's Watchdogs and editing Ronnie Barker's By the Sea.

I can't understand why he wasn't used for more shows, especially anything with lots of exterior scenes and drama.

He seemed to me the obvious choice for Still Open All Hours, but didn't get it.
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I did look it up!

He did a whole bunch of one run series in the 1980s, nine altogether not counting Summerwine. But after that it was pretty much bare according to IMDB, though he did do an apparently well received TV movie, Lost For Words with Thora Hird, in 1999.
 
Sarkus said:
As noted there are quite a few inconsistencies between the two shows and this is likely because Gwenlan and others went against what even Clarke wanted. Not only was Cleggs wife supposed to be named Edith, she was also supposed to be heavy and unattractive. You even see a wedding photo of his wife in an early episode (Hail Smiling Morn . . . if I recall correctly). Clearly that got thrown out the window too by those who decided to cast all young and attractive actors for the series regulars.
Click to expand...

That explains a lot then. I thought Linda had possibly forgotten the back story, but this sounds like it was probably written with no regard for what had already been revealed in LOTSW. We also know from Short Back and Palais Glide that Clegg met Edith at a Chapel Tea - not working at the co-op.
 
L. Grey said:
Hello all,

When watching FOTSW I did get the sneaking suspicion that Anita (Pillsworth?) was supposed to be Clegg's future wife, particularly given her tendency for 'taking him in hand' and trying to force him into 'self-improvement' activities, but scotched the notion because Clegg's wife was named 'Edith', as far as I was concerned. Now I see that, in an interview with Linda Davidson, who played Anita, the character was indeed supposed to have married Clegg. Since all through LOTSW we are only told that Clegg was 'married for 30 years' and references only indicate he was married the once, how does this concept square with people's views of Clegg's marriage? Perhaps Edith was her middle name, that she preferred to use? :21: I guess this might be attributable to the fact that, as often observed here, consistency in (admittedly more minor) story points was not a central preoccupation for the production team, or Linda Davidson might be misremembering (although on such an essential point for the character it's doubtful). Just thought I'd see what the knowledgeable folks here made of this!

https://firstofthesummerwine.wordpress.com/linda-davidson-on-playing-anita/
Click to expand...
Glad someone else has been looking at this website. I have left a few replies on it. Some good interviews.
 
Thanks for the replies! Good to get others' insights on the matter.

Pearl- I agree there do seem to be numerous 'inconsistencies'; still, I suppose most fans make a good-natured game out of noticing them! It certainly doesn't ruin the show for me at all, but I suppose in this day and age most people tend to want everything absolutely flawlessly planned out- not really possible over 37 years! Just another aspect of what's enjoyable about LOTSW I think... Plus of course it allows for conversations about these things!

Sarkus- very interesting; I should really try and get hold of the book, because I've not as yet read any of the several 'behind-the-scenes' ones and it does sound like it'd be a rewarding read. I definitely agree that the fact that all the girls were pretty (purposely unflattering make-up/ accessories aside) slightly jarred with- at least my own conception- that characters like Ivy and Nora had always been, shall we say, rather physically imposing 'battleaxes', but I did enjoy FOTSW (albeit not as much as the parent series) nonetheless!

me2- I suppose that's really the kicker; given that Clegg definitely said they met at a chapel tea it does make Anita an unlikely 'Edith' candidate when all's said and done- granted it would probably never be addressed by any of the show's staff one way or the other at this distance in time, but I was hoping to square the two away at least in my own head... oh well!

amos hames- agreed; it's really great that the show is being given attention, particularly now, when it's rather fallen off the map amongst non-fans- and the effort the site owner has put in with all these interviews is impressive (and much appreciated!) I've also enjoyed the 'Summer Winos' site; has anyone else been having trouble getting it to load in the past few days?


Excuse this long reply! Now I suppose it's back to my current run-through of the series; I'm on series 9 at the moment- always do enjoy Seymour!
 
I have just looked on the Amazon UK site and someone with the trading name aimhighbookskrue is selling a used copy of Alan JW Bell's book for a mere £3239.12 wow!!!! The cost new is £16.58 and the kindle version £10.44. For that price you would want it signed by the whole cast and delivered by one of the stars of the show.
 
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