| Runtime: | 60 minutes |
| Creator: | Kay Mellor |
| Executive Producer: | Charles Brand Tessa Ross Kay Mellor |
| Producer: | Kathleen Hutchison Hugh Warren Greg Brenman Lis Steele |
| Channel: | BBC One |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Language: | English |
| Num Series: | 5 |
| Num Episodes: | 32 |
| Company: | Tiger Aspect Productions |
Playing the Field is a BBC television drama series following the lives of the Castlefield Blues, a fictitious female football team from South Yorkshire.
Inspired by Pete Davies's book I Lost My Heart to the Belles – which was written about a real-life club, the Doncaster Belles – Playing the Field ran for five series, from 8 March 1998 to 10 February 2002, with scripts by, amongst others, Kay Mellor, Sally Wainwright and Gaynor Faye.
Despite being set in South Yorkshire, much of the location filming took place in Ilkeston, Derbyshire, although the fifth (and final) series was filmed around Leeds; whilst the theme song, "Blue" by Alison Moyet, was originally a B-side track about the singer's love of Southend United FC. A young Marsha Thomason – who has since appeared in U.S. shows Las Vegas and Lost – featured in the first three series of Playing the Field. The first four series have been released on DVD in the UK, but the fifth has yet to be made available.
| Episode No. | Airdate | Total Viewers | BBC Weekly Rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.1 | 18 February 1999 | 8,160,000 | 18 | |
| 2.2 | 25 February 1999 | 7,490,000 | 22 | |
| 2.3 | 4 March 1999 | 7.200,000 | 22 | |
| 2.4 | 11 March 1999 | Under 6,050,000 | N/A | |
| 2.5 | 18 March 1999 | 7,090,000 | 24 | |
| 2.6 | 25 March 1999 | 7,710,000 | 18 | |
| 2.7 | 1 April 1999 | 7,770,000 | 17 |
| Episode No. | Airdate | Total Viewers | BBC Weekly Rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | 1 February 2000 | Under 6,490,000 | N/A | |
| 3.2 | 8 February 2000 | 7,430,000 | 18 | |
| 3.3 | 15 February 2000 | 7,730,000 | 17 | |
| 3.4 | 24 February 2000 | 6,010,000 | 30 | |
| 3.5 | 2 March 2000 | 6,930,000 | 22 | |
| 3.6 | 9 March 2000 | 6,290,000 | 27 |
| Episode No. | Airdate | Total Viewers | BBC Weekly Rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4.1 | 13 July 2000 | 6,440,000 | 12 | |
| 4.2 | 20 July 2000 | 5,310,000 | 25 | |
| 4.3 | 27 July 2000 | 5,670,000 | 24 | |
| 4.4 | 3 August 2000 | 5,760,000 | 19 | |
| 4.5 | 10 August 2000 | 5,450,000 | 26 | |
| 4.6 | 17 August 2000 | 5,650,000 | 27 | |
| 4.7 | 24 August 2000 | 6,020,000 | 18 |
| Episode No. | Airdate | Total Viewers | BBC Weekly Rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5.1 | 6 January 2002 | 6,160,000 | 17 | |
| 5.2 | 13 January 2002 | 5,250,000 | 25 | |
| 5.3 | 20 January 2002 | 5,290,000 | 25 | |
| 5.4 | 27 January 2002 | Under 4,700,000 | N/A | |
| 5.5 | 3 February 2002 | Under 4,430,000 | N/A | |
| 5.6 | 10 February 2002 | Under 4,490,000 | N/A |
The first four series of Playing the Field have been made available via Universal Playback.
Series 5, which was broadcast in 2002 has not received a VHS release, nor has it been released on DVD.