Connie (TV series)

Did You Know?

• Actor Ronald Lacey, known for playing Nazi agent Arnold Toht in Raiders of the Lost Ark, appeared as the corrupt industrialist Crawder.
• TV critic Nancy Banks-Smith described the series as a "gritty soap" with writing that has a "nice citrus bite to it, sharp and funny."

Series history

The series was written by Ron Hutchinson as a commentary on Thatcherite values in the 1980s. Set in the East Midlands garment industry, it follows a woman returning to the United Kingdom from Greece after eight years in self-imposed exile. She seeks to regain control of her chain of high street clothes shops, now controlled by her stepsister, and to re-enter the family-owned garment factory "House of Bea," run by her father and stepmother, which is losing money. Stephanie Beacham's performance as Connie was noted for its high-octane delivery, including camp, metaphorical dialogue such as "My spoon is going into the gravy, my snout is going into the trough. I'm having some of that." The cast included Pam Ferris as stepsister Nesta, George Costigan as ex-husband Arnie, Richard Morant as love interest David Jamieson, Brenda Bruce as stepmother Bea, Paul Rogers as father Hector, and Ronald Lacey as the corrupt industrialist Crawder.

Releases

Network DVD released the full 13-part series on DVD as a 4-disc set on 24 September 2012, including a photo gallery as a bonus feature. A tie-in paperback novelisation by Ron Hutchinson was published by Methuen in 1985. The theme song "The Show," written by Willy Russell and Ron Hutchinson and performed by Rebecca Storm, was released as a 7" and extended 12" single by Towerbell Records in June 1985, reaching number 22 on the UK Singles Chart. Kate Rusby covered the song in 2020 on her album Hand Me Down.