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Lip Service (TV series)

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Lip Service
Title Card
Created byHarriet Braun
Written byHarriet Braun
Directed byJohn McKay
StarringLaura Fraser
Ruta Gedmintas
Fiona Button
Emun Elliott
James Pearson
Roxanne McKee
Heather Peace
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Production
Executive producerDerek Wax
Production companiesKudos Film & Television
BBC Scotland
Original release
NetworkBBC Three

Lip Service is a British television serial drama portraying the lives of a group of lesbians living in Glasgow, Scotland. Production on the series, which stars Laura Fraser, Ruta Gedmintas and Fiona Button, began in summer 2009 in Glasgow.[1] The show debuted on BBC Three on 12 October 2010.[2]

Cast

Actor Role
Laura Fraser Cat MacKenzie
Ruta Gedmintas Frankie Alan
Fiona Button Tess Roberts
Emun Elliott Jay Bryan Adams
James Anthony Pearson Ed MacKenzie
Roxanne McKee Lou Foster
Heather Peace Sam Murray
Natasha O'Keeffe Sadie Anderson
Cush Jumbo Becky

Episodes

№ # Title Directed by Written by Original air date Production code Viewers
11"Episode 1"John McKayHarriet BraunOctober 12, 2010 (2010-10-12)101580,000
22"Episode 2"John McKayHarriet BraunOctober 19, 2010 (2010-10-19)102579,000[3]
33"Episode 3"Harry BradbeerChloe MossOctober 26, 2010 (2010-10-26)103464,000
44"Episode 4"Harry BradbeerJulie CeareyNovember 2, 2010 (2010-11-02)104580,000[4]
55"Episode 5"UnknownUnknownNovember 9, 2010 (2010-11-09)105508,000[5]
66"Episode 6"UnknownUnknownNovember 16, 2010 (2010-11-16)106TBA

Production

Braun gave each of the actors an outline of their character, and then let them develop the full characterisation. For Gedmintas, this included cutting her previously long blonde hair to a close cut bob. The director gave each cast member a manual on lesbian sex, which they were expected to read before shooting began. The series was shot in its entirety in Glasgow in winter 2009/10.

Reception

Ratings

The first episode debuted with 580,000 viewers, picking up an additional 8,000 viewers on the BBC HD channel. It had an audience share of 4.4%.[6]

Critical response

The opening episode received mixed reviews from critics. Claudia Cahalane of The Guardian wrote that it was "hugely significant" for a drama to normalise lesbian and bisexual relationships, citing a study of BBC output which found that lesbians contributed to just two minutes of programming from a randomly selected 39 hours of broadcasts. While Cahalane expressed disappointment that the episode did not represent butch lesbians, she deemed it "important to recognise Lip Service for the great service it's doing to British lesbians."[7] Keith Watson of the Metro attacked the series' tokenism, suggesting that it included lipstick lesbian clichés to meet the BBC's diversity quota, and commenting that, "It was trying so hard to be modern and liberated but it felt tired and lazy".[8] The Independent's Amol Rajan criticized the episode's "pathetically vacuous plot", calling the series "spirit-cripplingly tedious". He expressed sympathy for the "clearly talented" cast, opining: "In trying to make a point about the importance of engaging with lesbian issues, this show ends up trivialising them. The lesbians are presented to us not as interesting people, or characters who warrant sympathy; rather, they matter purely because of their sexual preferences. That is immature, patronising, and unrealistic."[9] Evangelical pressure group the Christian Institute reported that the episode had prompted complaints from viewers over its sexual content.[10]

References

  1. ^ Johnson, Chris (23 October 2009). "Hollyoaks star Roxanne McKee goes hell for leather as she shoots 'sexiest ever' BBC drama". Daily Mail. Associated Newspapers. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
  2. ^ "BBC - Press Office - Network TV Programme Information BBC Week 41 Tuesday 12 October 2010". BBC Online. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
  3. ^ http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/news/a283154/first-men-in-the-moon-attracts-830k.html
  4. ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/nov/03/tv-ratings-turn-back-time
  5. ^ http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/news/a287038/itvs-the-zoo-opens-to-34m.html
  6. ^ Plunkett, John (13 October 2010). "TV ratings - 12 October: BBC3's Lip Service kicks off with 580,000 viewers". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
  7. ^ Cahalane, Claudia (13 October 2010). "Lip Service is groundbreaking – whatever its star says". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
  8. ^ Watson, Keith (12 October 2010). "Lip Service did lesbians a disservice". Metro. Associated Newspapers. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
  9. ^ Rajan, Amol (13 October 2010). "Last Night's TV - Lip Service, BBC3; Tom Daley: the Diver and His Dad, BBC1". The Independent. Independent Print Limited. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
  10. ^ "Viewers outraged over BBC's new lesbian show". www.christian.org.uk. Christian Institute. 15 October 2010. Retrieved 15 October 20101. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
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