Stella (British TV series)
| Stella | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Comedy-drama |
| Created by | Ruth Jones David Peet |
| Written by | Ruth Jones Ben Edwards Simon Ludders Rob Evans |
| Directed by | Sandy Johnson Sue Tully Matt Dilmore Juliet May |
| Starring | Ruth Jones Craig Gallivan Catrin Stewart Justin Davies Elizabeth Berrington Owen Teale Julian Lewis Jones Karen Paullada Steve Speirs Kenny Doughty Mark Lewis Jones James Corden |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 10 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 60mins (inc. adverts) |
| Production company | Tidy Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | Sky1 |
| Release | 6 January 2012 – present |
Stella is a British comedy-drama created and written by Ruth Jones who plays the lead role of Stella. It is one of the few new television comedy series that has been commissioned and aired on Sky1.
Premise
The series is set in the fictional village of Pontyberry in the South Wales Valleys. Stella is a 40-something single mum who earns a living doing the locals' ironing. And, most of the time, she's relatively happy with life as she juggles the ups and downs of her family, amid the chaos of her eccentric friends, relatives and children's fathers. Her brood consists of eldest son Luke, a lovely boy who starts the series in prison as a consequence of joyriding; beautiful 16-year-old Emma who's smitten with her first love Sunil; and the brains of the family, 12-year-old Ben.
Then there's Stella's best friend, sister-in-law Paula, a functioning alcoholic funeral director. Stella's not-too-bright ex-husband Karl who's now seeing 28-year-old Nadine; not forgetting lollipop man and youth rugby coach Alan, an old school friend of Stella's who's been in love with her since 1984. Finally there's Stella's brother Dai who is an ex-serviceman injured on duty. He doesn't work now but is always willing to help out while enjoying an exciting sex life with his wife Paula.
A running joke of the series is the Daddy character played by Howell Evans who only ever speaks in an unfathomable language, yet everyone in the village is able to understand him. Daddy works at the funeral parlour but there is no explanation why he is called Daddy.
Main Cast and Characters
| Actor/Actress | Character |
|---|---|
| Ruth Jones | Stella |
| Craig Gallivan | Luke |
| Catrin Stewart | Emma |
| Justin Davies | Ben |
| Elizabeth Berrington | Paula |
| Owen Teale | Dai Cosh |
| Julian Lewis Jones | Karl |
| Karen Paullada | Nadine |
| Steve Speirs | Big Alan Williams |
| Kenny Doughty | Sean |
| Mark Lewis Jones | Rob Morgan |
Other Cast and Characters
| Actor/Actress | Character |
|---|---|
| Aled Pugh | Bobby |
| Howell Evans | Daddy |
| Maggie Steed | Meg |
| Michael Elwyn | Ken |
| Pal Aron | Jagadeesh |
| Sudha Bhuchar | Tanisha |
| Rory Girvan | Sunil |
| Taj Atwal | Jasminder |
| Daniel Gammond | Little Alan |
| Joanna Scanlan | Nancy |
| Maxine Evans | Rhian |
| Deddie Davies | Marj |
| Dafydd Hywel | Glen |
| Beth Robert | Mrs Barclay |
| Anthony O'Donnell | Dai Davies |
| James Corden | Steven |
Episodes
Series 1 (2012)
| Episode | Title | Directed by | Written by | Ratings[1] | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Episode One" | Sue Tully | Ruth Jones | 1,424,000 | 6 January 2012 | |
|
Stella is fed up with her appearance. Attempting to glam herself up, she has a bit of fun in daughter Emma's bedroom, trying on her clothes and playing with make-up. But the fun comes to an abrupt halt when she makes a startling discovery. | ||||||
| 2 | "Episode Two" | Sue Tully | Ruth Jones, Georgia Pritchett | 1,304,000 | 13 January 2012 | |
|
Stella doesn't react well to Emma's news, causing a rift between mother and daughter. Meanwhile, Paula continues to search for her stolen hearse. | ||||||
| 3 | "Episode Three" | Tony Dow | Ruth Jones, Rob Evans | 963,000 | 21 January 2012[fn 1] | |
|
When local legend 'Dick the Kick' passes away, Stella helps Paula throw the funeral of the century. But when disaster looms, Sean saves the day: again. The funeral includes cameo appearances as themselves by Neil Kinnock, Warren Gatland, Eamonn Holmes, Colin Jackson and Gethin Jones along with Welsh rugby internationals Colin Charvis, Mike Phillips, Graham Price, Gareth Thomas and Shane Williams. | ||||||
| 4 | "Episode Four" | Tony Dow | Ruth Jones, Rob Evans | 1,193,000 | 27 January 2012 | |
|
Stella's over the moon to have her eldest son, Luke, home. But it isn't long before he's mixing with the wrong people, leading to tensions with Sean. This episode includes cameos from Keith Chegwin, Debbie McGee and Andrew Stone as themselves. | ||||||
| 5 | "Episode Five" | Juliet May | Ruth Jones, Steve Spiers | 1,338,000 | 3 February 2012 | |
|
Stella embarks on a fitness drive in the build-up to her date with Sean, but she's soon distracted when Dai goes missing. Plus, Ben has a surprise for Luke. | ||||||
| 6 | "Episode Six" | Juliet May | Ruth Jones | 1,226,000 | 10 February 2012 | |
|
While Stella looks like the cat that got the cream following her night with Sean, Emma hears a worrying rumour about Sunil. Luke has something on his mind too. | ||||||
| 7 | "Episode Seven" | Sue Tully | Ruth Jones, Rob Gittins | 1,331,000 | 17 February 2012 | |
|
It's Luke's 25th birthday, and while Stella is all loved up with Sean, the birthday boy doesn't know what to do about the return of his father, Rob Morgan. Joe Calzaghe makes a cameo appearance as himself. | ||||||
| 8 | "Episode Eight" | Sue Tully | Ruth Jones, Ben Edwards, Simon Ludders | 1,219,000 | 24 February 2012 | |
|
The girls head to a spa for Emma's hen weekend, while the boys embark on a camping adventure for Sunil's stag do. Luke and Rob bond, but Stella isn't thrilled. | ||||||
| 9 | "Episode Nine" | Sandy Johnson | Ruth Jones, Ben Edwards, Simon Ludders | TBA | 2 March 2012 | |
|
As Stella deals with the news that Luke is going to leave, Emma goes into labour at school, leading Stella and Rob to grow closer when they come to her rescue. | ||||||
| 10 | "Episode Ten" | Sandy Johnson | Ruth Jones | TBA | 9 March 2012 | |
|
Luke prepares to move to Canada, while Stella must decide between Sean and Rob. Who will she choose? | ||||||
Future
After the conclusion of the first series, it was announced Stella had been recommissioned for a second series.[2]
DVD release
The complete first series of Stella will be released on DVD on 12 March 2012.[3]
Notes
- ^ A technical fault caused this episode to be broadcast for 40 minutes without sound before being replaced by a repeat of The Simpsons, in its usual Friday evening slot.
References
- ^ "Weekly Top 10 Programmes". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Retrieved 9 January 2012.
- ^ Sky order 2nd series of Ruth Jones comedy drama Stella, retrieved 10 February 2012.
- ^ "Stella [DVD]". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 29 January 2012.