Streets Apart is Streets Ahead

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: United Kingdom

GENRE: Sitcom

CHANNEL: BBC1

Produced by: BBC

Years: 1988-89

NUMBER OF SERIES: 2

EPISODES: 12

CREATED BY: Adrienne Conway

THEME MUSIC: Composed by David Mackay

THEME SONG: Sung by Neil Lockwood

STARRING:

James Hazeldine - Bernie

Amanda Redman - Sylvia

Desmond MacNamara - Cliff

June Barry - Jenny

Julie Saunders - Tiffany

Anna Murphy - Mandy

Neil Kagan - Paul

Edna Doré - Gran

Ever remembered something so fleeting from your childhood that you thought you imagined it? Well that's how we felt about Streets Apart! This little-repeated BBC sitcom, written by Adrienne Conway, was first shown thirty three years ago having first been broadcast on BBC1 on 24 October 1988, starring the late James Hazeldine and a virtually unrecognizable - but nonetheless stunning -Amanda Redman, as childhood sweethearts, Bernie and Sylvia, who reunite after being apart for two decades.

Only two series of this superb comedy were made and despite being shown in numerous countries, and pulling in an audience of ten to twelve million a week in Britain, we don’t believe Streets Apart was ever repeated again on BBC1 which is a real pity as it was a great sitcom. We take a look at the sitcom that was all about reminiscing, first love and second chances. Some might say it's got nostalgia written all over it...

PLOT

Sylvia and Bernie were childhood sweethearts who dated and drifted apart, taking different directions in life. They meet almost twenty years later and try to pick up where they left off… but it’s not easy when you’re now different people each with a different set of circumstances.

Amanda Redman played Sylvia Grant (YouTube)

How The Story Goes...

You've heard all those old romantic clichés before:

1. You never forget your first love

2. Some people are just meant to be

3. It was as though they'd never been apart

4. They just picked up where they left off

Well for reunited lovers Bernie Walters and Sylvia Grant, number one is true for them; two might be true for them; three isn't true as they're very different people now, and as for four, well they've certainly got their work cut out for them picking up where they left off!

When Sylvia and Bernie meet up again by chance after having been apart for two decades, they find that they are now two very different people who have taken different paths in life: Bernie is now a taxi driver and a widowed father of two, while never-been-married-and-childfree Sylvia, having worked hard to escape her East End roots, works as a successful literary agent and has a plush central London home. But as they discover that that spark is still there, they set about trying to recapture what they had... with hilarious results!

While the feelings are still there and the couple often reminisce over their teenage romance, it seems as though neither is totally prepared to put all their cards on the table and what follows are a series of misunderstandings; lovers' tiffs, and episodes of playing hard to get... and that's all before we get to the obstacles! The obstacles being Bernie's children from his first marriage, and while Sylvia makes an effort to get along with them, it's clear that she's not exactly the maternal type. And Bernie's daughter, Mandy, isn't a fan of hers either! Then there's the sister of Bernie's best friend, Cliff - Rene - who has romantic feelings for Bernie. To top it all off there's Sylvia's overbearing Gran who looked after Sylvia after her parents had died. Sylvia feels a sense of responsibility to her grandmother which sometimes comes before her own needs.

James Hazeldine played Bernie

It's also very clear that Bernie and Sylvia's outlook for the future is also very different. Bernie is very happy with his lot in life; he enjoys driving his cab around London, hanging out with Cliff and being with his kids. Family and friends are very much his focus. But Sylvia is very driven and dedicated to her career, having worked hard to get to her position in the literary world. It's clear that Sylvia is not going to allow her career to take a backseat to marriage and motherhood.

So where does that leave Bernie and Sylvia?

THE WRITER

Streets Apart was written by the very talented Adrienne Conway who, before successfully turning her hand to comedy writing, started out as an actress - rubbing shoulders with some of Hollywood's elite in the sixties and seventies. She even made a cameo appearance in Streets Apart in the second series!

The lady who gave us Streets Apart: The very beautiful and very talented, Ms. Adrienne Conway (photo courtesy of Adrienne Conway)

The sitcom was Adrienne's first - and very successful - attempt at comedy writing so naturally she was delighted when it was immediately picked up the BBC. When Streets Apart ended, Adrienne then wrote A Slight Hitch starring the eternally handsome Nigel Havers

THEME TUNE

Oh if only we could hear that bittersweet theme tune again, sung beautifully by Neil Lockwood! It had been a long time since we'd first watched Streets Apart, but as soon as we heard those opening bars of the theme, it was instantly recognizable and transported us back to our childhood years. The lyrics for this tender theme tune - written by David Mackay - are full of longing, wistfulness and second chances. And the emotion in Neil Lockwood’s amazing vocals do this song justice.

FAMOUS FACES

Amanda Redman who played Sylvia has gone on to have a very extensive career in TV acting and is a very familiar face to British audiences, having appeared in everything from Dangerfield to At Home With the Braithwaites to New Tricks. In fact - is Amanda ever off our screens???

James Hazeldine had been on television since 1970 and after Streets Apart went on to to star in Adrian Mole: The Cappuccino Years, Midsomer Murders, and The Inspector Lynley Mysteries as well as many other shows but it was Hazeldine's role as Bayleaf in London's Burning that the late actor - who sadly passed away in 2002 at the age of 55 - is best remembered for.

Edna Doré who stole the show as Sylvia's gran (YouTube)

Edna Doré, who was fabulous as Sylvia's gran in Streets Apart, went on to play the role for which she is best known to British audiences - that of Frank Butcher's battle-axe mum Mo Butcher in EastEnders. Then of course there was Diane Langton (Rene) who viewers would have recognized as Del Boy's former girlfriend June Snell in Only Fools and Horses. Today she is best known for her role in Hollyoaks as Nana McQueen and also starred in EastEnders as the mother of that wicked woman, Cindy Beale.

Diane Langton in Only Fools and Horses before starring in Streets Apart (YouTube)

June Barry (Jenny) who has been on TV since the early sixties would have been well-known to viewers having appeared in Jackanory, The Forsyte Saga, Armchair Theatre and Coronation Street. Desmond McNamara has had roles in EastEnders, Doctors, Casualty and played several roles in The Bill (just not all at the same time of course!) Julie Saunders (Tiffany) has starred in Between the Lines, Holby City, and Emmerdale Farm. She has also set up a drama school in West London (not a million miles away from where Angel used to live!)

WHAT WE THINK

We thoroughly enjoyed watching Streets Apart again years later - and wished we hadn't left it so long! Despite the fact that Streets Apart hasn't been given much of a repeat compared to other sitcoms - though it has been repeated on UK Gold - it was amazing how much of the show we remembered. And there were plenty of laugh out loud moments with much hilarity: Bernie picking up a fare who wanted to go to Torquay but pronounced it ‘Turkey’; Sylvia talking seductively over the phone to her bewildered assistant Tiffany in an attempt to make Bernie jealous; Cliff’s sister making a play for Bernie – who only had eyes for Sylvia.

The first time you watch the show, you might feel quite sympathetic towards Bernie’s daughter, Mandy, even thought she came across as quite bratty. Watching the show again, you'll see that there is definitely fault on both sides but we still felt for Mandy. Even though it's unfair that she'd want to conspire to keep Bernie away from Sylvia, Mandy is a child who is still missing her mum very much, and you can't help but feel sympathetic as she struggles to hang on to family life as she knows it. And with far-from-maternal and seemingly stuck-up Sylvia as a prospective stepmother, can anyone blame Mandy for being apprehensive?

Spoilt and snooty some of the characters may have appeared but all the characters are likeable in their own way and there is something quite touching in the close bonds that are formed between Bernie and Sylvia and their respective best friends Cliff and Jenny as the latter two provide the necessary support and encouragement that their friends need in order to resume their relationship.

It’s such as shame that only two series of Streets Apart were made before the show was cancelled. There was so much that could have been done with the show in terms of storyline and character development. Viewers were left hanging after watching the final episode; deliberately intended, we're sure, just in case a third series should be commissioned. However, we're optimistic enough to think that Bernie and Sylvia did make it work despite their differences.

TEST-OF-TIME TEST

We adore this ever-so-charming sitcom. More than thirty years on, Streets Apart is still very watchable – but it makes you yearn horribly for the 1980s! Streets Apart is superbly written by Adrienne Conway, well-acted, funny and has a tale of first love that many people can relate to, so in that sense, Streets Apart will definitely hold viewers' interest. In a way, Streets Apart was ahead of it's time as it had a female lead who was strong, independent, go-getting and didn't feel that intense yearning for marriage and babies. Sylvia wanted to be with Bernie because she loved him and not because she felt she had to have a man in her life, or because she was in her late thirties and and the ticking of 'the clock' had sent her into a panic. A lot of women in the eighties who were still single and child-free at that stage in their lives say that they were often made to feel quite odd (women today who are single and child-free at that stage in their lives have also said that they've been made to feel quite odd! Though while some things never seem to change, we do hope it's gotten better.) Somehow though it's hard to believe that a determined and driven woman like Sylvia would be phased by the unimportant opinions of others.

It's hard to watch Streets Apart again and not feel that connection to your childhood and the 1980s, so this sitcom really struck such a chord with us. We could also relate to Sylvia’s desire to make something of herself and of her love of the literary world. There was so much that was familiar to us that we actually wanted to climb inside the TV set and be transported back to the 1980s! If only it were that simple...

Despite being moving, funny and very well written by the very gifted Conway, with stars Hazeldine, Redman and Doré all achieving a great level of fame, Streets Apart never reached the same iconic comedy status as the equally short lived but extremely popular Fawlty Towers - and we cannot understand why as more than two decades later it’s still very watchable, very relatable, and nowhere near as dated as you may think considering it's an eighties sitcom. We also can't understand why it hasn't been repeated more often. And why there's very little to be found online regarding the sitcom is a complete mystery to us! For those of you who remember the sitcom, you'll remember how charming and funny the series was. We’d like to think that it’s streets ahead of a lot of the drivel that passes for comedy today. They certainly don’t make them like that anymore.

So come on BBC - a repeat is long, long, LONG overdue!

Photos: As stated

Blog graphics and Word Cloud: Angel Noire