| Genre: | Sitcom |
| Director: | Mike Stephens |
| Starring: |
|
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Language: | English |
| Num Series: | 3 |
| Num Episodes: | 20 |
| Producer: | Peter Ridsdale Scott |
| Runtime: | 30 minutes |
| Company: | BBC |
| Channel: | BBC Two |
Dear Ladies is a British comedy television series which aired on the BBC in 21 episodes between 1983 and 1984. It featured the comic characters Hinge and Bracket, played by George Logan and Patrick Fyffe.[1]
The comedy is set in and around the house the ladies shared in the fictional village of Stackton Tressel in Suffolk and gives viewers "A glimpse behind the scenes of village life in Stackton Tressel."[2]
Dr Evadne Hinge and Dame Hilda Bracket are a pair of elderly spinsters who live in the fictional English village of Stackton Tressel. They share a large house named Utopia Ltd, owned by Dame Hilda, the east wing of which is occupied by Evadne. Each episode is based around their musical activities at home and in the village community.
Hinge and Bracket were conceived by George Logan and Patrick Fyffe as a pair of old ladies who had spent their lives performing classical music. Their comic female impersonation act had grown in popularity in the 1970s, and after appearing on BBC Radio, a Hinge and Bracket situation comedy was developed. The scripts were written by George Logan and Patrick Fyffe, who played the starring roles, in collaboration with the writer and broadcaster Gyles Brandreth. Brandreth described Hinge and Bracket as "a drag act with a difference. They offered character and comedy instead of glamour and sex appeal."[3]
Exterior scenes in Stackton Tressel village were filmed on location in the Cheshire towns of Knutsford, Great Budworth and Nantwich.[4]
Incidental music is by John Golland. A special episode was broadcast after the 1984 series, the "Dear Ladies Masterclass", in which Hinge and Bracket are invited to deliver a music masterclass at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. The episode features students of the college, who perform under the tutelage of the two Ladies.[5]
Dear Ladies cast members included:[6]