Dinnerladies (1998–2000) User Reviews (35)

What a wonderful comedy.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 9/10 · 25 April 2020]

Dinnerladies ranks as one of the best comedies of all all time, it's as witty, hilarious and all out lovely as it was when it first aired.

It's consistent from beginning to end, the humour remains sharp and witty throughout, the characters are incredible, and such is the writing, and the acting, that you care for them. You will see this particularly so in the episode Christine.

Wood's writing was so brilliant, and so selfless, she could have saved the best lines for herself, but she didn't. The lines were generously spread around, however, Walters always seemed to steal the show, Petula Gordino became more and more extreme, and more funny.

Favourite episodes include Fog and the glorious finale Toast.

This was a wonderful, clever, funny comedy, I loved it 9/10.

Cooking with gas

[ygwerin1 · 8/10 · 8 February 2019]

Brilliant stuff, I've always loved Victoria Wood and everything she's ever done. After watching her TV shows there's some of her repertory company, co-star Julie Walters, Celia Imrie, and Duncan Preston. I've never watched Coronation Street as I am not a fan of soaps, but I recognised two of its regulars (Anne Reed and Thelma Barlow) though I didn't know the actresses names. It was good to be introduced to actresses who were new to me, Shobna Gulati and Maxine Peake, as well as to Andrew Dunn.

I've since enjoyed seeing Anne Reed in several TV programmes. And Andrew Dunn in one or two occasional shows. I absolutely love Julie Walters in everything I've ever seen her in. She is a consummate actress who plays every part to perfection. I can't disagree more with the comments about her character. She is extremely eccentric but that's no bad thing, I think she is wonderfully weird. No one else could have possibly played that part, she is Petula.

This is one of my favourite comedy shows with a great selection of colourful characters, each brilliantly performed by an incredibly talented team of artists. They formed such a perfect partnership, that I could certainly imagine them working together. Anyone used to working in what I consider to be a normal environment, such as a factory will be able to to relate to the show. The natural badinage that exists between workmates used to each others company, is wonderfully encapsulated.

Another example of great British humour

[Moviefan54 · 9/10 · 8 August 2007]

I love this show. I had heard of it before when Shobna Gulati went to "Coronation Street" to play Sunita. Her biography said that she had previously appeared in the highly-rated "dinnerladies". "dinnerladies" began broadcasting on Vision TV in Canada in June, and I was pleased to see Thelma Barlow, whom I had known as Mavis Wilton in "Coronation Street", as part of the cast also.

I have seen Julie Walters in many different roles, but Victoria Wood is totally new to me. She is wonderful as an actress, comedian, and writer. I want to find more of her work now.

The characters were well established from the beginning and develop in realistic, yet humorous, ways in each episode. This is very gentle humour with great respect for each of the characters, despite their individual foibles. Victoria Wood is terrific in the straight-man role. She is the calm centre of the canteen while all the crises of the other characters revolve around her.

It is too bad to learn that there were only 16 episodes. However, perhaps it ended before it had become repetitive or ridiculous.

This is the type of humour that the British do best. I cannot imagine an American network being able to duplicate the low-key tone, which is key to this show's appeal.

If you haven't seen it yet, look out for "dinnerladies".

Charming and delightful

[Benguin · 30 June 2003]

'dinnerladies' (sic) was a short lived but concise series which was a delight to watch. The scripts were quite simply charming. Victoria Wood's attention to character detail is so well refined, there is little like it elsewhere in the land of situation comedy. Even series which clock up over a hundred episodes do not have the brilliance or depth of character as can be seen here.

A lot of the credit also goes to the performers. Particularly Anne Reid and Thelma Barlow as the bickering friends Jean and Dolly respectively. We had seen aspects of Thelma Barlow's comic timing when she was in Coronation Street but it is brought to great fruition here.

It may not be as 'in your face' or as loud and bumptious as a lot of nineties comedies and I feel it is sad that 'dinnerladies' is often compared to these others. This is a series of pure classic comedy writing - showing off a great knowledge of idiolect and pathos.

Victoria Wood kept the series short to leave on a high note, and she certainly did. The second series proved just how brilliant a writer she is. I certainly hope she pens another sitcom of an equal standard sometime in the future.

The perfect combination of 'situation' and 'comedy'

[andyp2609-841-581343 · 10/10 · 24 April 2016]

Ever since this first aired in the late 90s I was a fan. I've been a fan of Victoria Wood, Julie Walters and the rest for many years, but apart from Acorn Antiques (beautifully observed), no sitcom from Victoria Wood. Then dinnerladies...

The cast are perfect: her familiar co-performers Duncan Preston, Celia Imrie and Julie Walters are flawless. Julie Walters steals every scene she's in. And Anne Reid and Thelma Barlow bounce off each other wonderfully. Shobna Gulati and (the as yet unknown) Maxine Peake, and Andrew Dunn completing the core cast and delivering their lines with impeccable timing.

The beauty of dinnerladies is the interplay between the cast, and the language. Not a word is wasted. Such lines as "And where has it got you, having a pelvic floor like a bulldog clip?" or "Sex, it's like icing a cake - you've got to bloody concentrate!". It must have been a dream to act in.

To write and script edit the show, with no additional input must have been incredible hard work, but the end result is a (probably slightly under-appreciated) gem. And it's only really coming to light now that Victoria Wood is no more. If this were her only legacy it would be enough, but her work spanned 40 years, and was so brilliant and diverse. And dinnerladies, for me, was right at the top of the list.

This is British comedy as it ought to be!

[hayley0688 · 10/10 · 1 January 2006]

Those who make any form of negative comments about this hilarious comedy should have their heads tested. This program is British comedy at its best, capturing the dry wit and sarcasm that is such a common feature of the great Englishman/ woman. Victoria Wood's writing is pure genius and the incredibly talented actors who surround her deliver those classic lines with impeccable timing. Victoria Wood resists the temptation, that so many "comedians" succumb to, of using slap stick to gain laughs. By capturing the charming characteristics of normal everyday people, particularly the Northern culture, that we can all relate to, Wood is 100% successful in producing a comedy which proves that British comedy shows ARE the funniest in the world.

Perfect

[steverees-77735 · 10/10 · 9 February 2021]

A masterclass in comedy writing.

I can watch in over and over again.

bad taste

[beverleyb-01740 · 6/10 · 11 October 2020]

I used to really like this sitcom. until a saw an episode where Thelma Barlow mentioned alcoholics in a statement. i did not think that was nice at all. Alcoholism is an illness, which hell of a lot of people suffer from, and many through no fault of their own. i had a friend who died only last year from the same illness. i think they need to re-think their lines???

This is excellent.

[simon3818 · 10/10 · 8 July 2007]

Must be honest here, when it first came on TV I thought it was for the older generations. Then I watched just one episode (not sure which) and loved it.

The show only has 16 episodes (like many classics) but each one of them is so well scripted, cast and fresh it makes it a pleasure for continual viewing. Victoria Wood has excelled herself with this sitcom and with the final episode closing the canteen it has limited it to the 16 episodes for pure class.

This is a must for anyone who likes light hearted sitcom that doesn't have swearing, no filth (apart from innuendos here and there) and who needs to be cheered up.

Absolute perfection in british comedy

[jonnycarr-17496 · 10/10 · 9 August 2023]

The late, great Victoria Wood talents stand the test of time. The peak of British dry whit, humour and delivery is second to none. Growing up in a northern working class family these characters feel like people I grew up with and relate to on a deep level.

A show I can watch time and time again! With every rewatch is pure laughter, smiles and tears for such brilliant writing and acting. Highly recommend to anyone.

Victoria Wood, Maxine Peak and Julie Walters make this and no matter what else I see them I will only see the canteen workers.

Can not put into more words how much this show means to me.

10/10. Absolutely Brilliant!

Would have been 10/10 but Shobna Gulati let's it down

[ksbxbpmau · 7/10 · 28 May 2023]

Shobna Gulati totally let's this show down completely. From being a 10/10. Purely because she's just not funny. Not one bit. And when she does try to be funny she simply tries way too hard, making her look cringe and unnatural. Definitely not a comedic actress. No wonder she's not staring in comedies or anything to do with tv anymore.

Roxanne Pallett would have definitely been a better choice. Without doubt.

Still this still a great British tv comedy. And features some extremely amazing British talent.

I would definitely recommend this show. You can even binge watch it now on on Sky or the BBC.

Comedy?

[ronbell-23984 · 1/10 · 3 July 2020]

No way this can be classed as a comedy surely, it's not funny. Avoid if you're after a laugh.

An oasis of wit

[Kaserynofthegyre · 9 August 2002]

Dinnerladies is uniquely british and unsurprisingly does not travel well beyond these shores. There is little physical humour and the references are primarily based on UK culture and the north of England in particular. However, it is also the best example of its type I've ever seen. Victoria Wood's dialogue is fantastic, (Alan Bennett is the only other writer in her league in this regard). The staging is restricted (effectively one set, two rooms) the plots are secondary and contrived because they are of no real significance. It is all merely backdrop for the characters Ms Wood creates and the way they speak to, across and around each other.

A superb example of intelligent writing managing to survive in a world of slapstick

A funny and hopeful sitcom

[gee-15 · 9/10 · 11 April 2014]

Let's see...during the course of this series you have a woman who is implied to be in an abusive marriage, a man gets cancer, two people die (one of them a main character), a woman gets divorced and has a nervous breakdown, another woman has a baby out of wedlock and abandons him (temporarily). All of them end up losing their jobs...and this is a comedy.

And a very funny one it is. Count me as a Johnny-come-lately to the Victoria Wood fan club having only recently discovered this wonderful comedienne. Being American, a lot of the jokes in this series go over my head but I still get plenty of them and the underlying theme of how relationships (romantic and non-) can help you get through the struggles of life is universal.

Life In A Northern Canteen

[IridescentTranquility · 10/10 · 5 February 2005]

Dinnerladies is a really excellent comedy. I have watched it over and over again and never seem to be able to get tired of it. The important thing here is that everyone has a life of their own. Taking as a starting point a scene many people might see every day - a canteen in a factory and the people who serve in it - might sound like a very boring idea, but the fact that Bren, Dolly, Anita, Twinkle and Jean are dinnerladies is really only secondary to the plot.

Their characters are what really hold the piece together, and that's important. Along with Tony the canteen manager, Stan the handyman, Philippa the human resources manager and Bren's unbelievable yet totally believable (in a sense) mother Petula Gordeno the dinnerladies try to get through their lives. These are average, everyday people and yet they are so well written they can't help but be fascinating.

What makes the set all the better is the script itself, and the fact that the characters are not afraid to confront each other, even the most trivial issues. From "I didn't go mad this morning and order one old lady instead of a load of broccoli?" to "I wouldn't need high heels if my feet were attached to a pair of scales" to "We won't see another minnellium" to "You don't treat a female woman like that" there are more classic lines in this sitcom than you can remember all at once.

Another touch I especially liked is the subtlety of the script itself. Everything happens for a reason, so that by the time you've finished watching a whole series everything you've seen slots into place and makes total sense. I like this very much.

just perfect

[selffamily · 10/10 · 13 May 2023]

Spoiler - I loved Victoria Wood and still love her work.

I have had the boxed set of Dinnerladies on my shelf for a few years, never had time to get into it. I think I've seen an episode or two before, but last week was a bad week and I needed something to cheer me up. Well, she had me laughing out loud within the first episode and it took me a couple of nights but I've polished the lot off. Love it. Love it. REAL people, people you've met and worked with (UK mainly) and real situations, probably with the exception of Petula Gordino. I knew most of the cast from other work - I'm very old - but I hadn't realised what excellent comedy talent the younger members had.

It's a terrific series, and one that I shall watch again. I've already started recommending it to others - buy your own - and I have nothing but admiration for the writing, casting, acting and performance of the whole thing. It's up there with the Ballad of Barry and Freda!

Wood & Walters together again!

[du04 · 10/10 · 16 August 2006]

When this series first aired in 1998, me being only 10 years old it didn't grab me as an audience member, but by the time the second series was airing on BBC (I forget which year) I had grown up sufficiently and maybe I was only about 13 or 14 but I've always been old-headed as my parents say so this sitcom really appealed to me.

I've always been a fan of Victoria Wood ever since I saw a repeat of her 'An Audience With...' show on ITV many moons ago.

'dinnerladies' is a subtly written superbly acted and constantly funny sitcom which would probably appeal to the older generation if only through references of old singers/actors, etc.. (Telly Sevalas springs to mind.) I, however, thoroughly enjoyed this series and now own series 1 & 2 on DVD and play them constantly, they never get boring even though I basically know the whole script for every episode! In response to earlier comments about the Achyllie's Heel being Julie Walters as Patula Gordino, I strongly disagree, I think Julie is an amazing actress and played her role to a T, a show such as this which mostly relies on observational comedy needs some oddball comedy of Julie's sort to stop it going stale and boring! I agree, however that Victoria Wood was brave and ultimately right to end it after 2 series as this has made it all the more special.

10/10, long live Wood & Walters!

Genius writing and superlative performances.

[beresfordjd · 10/10 · 28 June 2006]

Victoria herself said that Dinnerladies looked old fashioned against the Royle Family but I believe that its format is its strength. I remember watching the first series and thinking this is not as good as I expected from Victoria Wood but you have to watch it again because now I think both the series are genius. Fantastic scripts (apparently there is not an ad-lib, everything is tightly scripted) written brilliantly. It rewards repeated watching and just gets funnier every time you see it. The performances are fantastic from all the cast-special mentions for Andrew Dunn, Duncan Preston, Celia Imrie, Shobna Gulati, Anne Reid and the fantastic Thelma Barlow. Maxine Peake (brilliant actress) was so lucky to get the part of Twinkle as her first acting job. Even the small appearances are wonderfully observed and performed.

I find it incredible that Miss Wood can write, compose, act and play at such an incredibly high standard. Whether other countries could really relate to the humour is a mystery to me but comedy relies on timing and I find myself laughing at US references in Frasier even though I may not know the situation they are referring to. I think thats down to timing. Maybe Dinnerladies will work that way too, 'cos the timing is spot on.If you have watched and not liked it,try it again-you may be very pleasantly surprised. I am watching again for what must be the twentieth time, both my wife and I still laugh out loud at lines we know backwards. That is the combination of writing, performance and timing.I guess it is peculiarly English and will not travel well, but that does not make it any less brilliant. Oct 2012 - I have just watched episode 1 of series 1 , having caught it on Gold. It was the one with which I was originally disappointed . I cannot for the life of me see why now. It just hit the ground running and was a hoot from the beginning. The characters were fully formed and incredibly acted down to the smallest part, for example - the stripper delivers her couple of lines with consummate skill. If I have one criticism it would be Julie Walters' part - the viewer is left to decide whether she is totally barmy or not and she seems a little young to be Victoria Woods' mom. It is a piece of work which can be watched again and again and still find funny stuff and lines which you missed the last time round.

Why didn't they just call it The Victoria Wood Show?

[michael-heathcote3 · 2/10 · 19 August 2008]

I think the writer and star performer was definitely a star act in her day, but her day has long gone. She has kept the same material going for about 30 years now, and personally I am sick of it. She may have influenced a lot of others with her style, especially female comedians who seem to hold her up as a Goddess, but her style and her material looks badly dated to me now. That's just the criticism of the artist, but my biggest problem is with the format of the show itself. This IS NOT A GENUINE SITCOM, it is more a very thinly disguised vehicle for an artist who had been off the air for a long time and obviously wanted to get back into it all.

The plots are thinner than the rich tea biscuits they seem to be eating all the time. Wood's material at its best is very witty and satirical but it has always been self indulgent. This series has a catering size larder full of the same comic staple Ms Wood has been churning out for years. Please read the sell by date on your stale old jokes Victoria. One after another the made to order jokes and references come rolling out of her store cupboard.

The (hilarious) lives and loves of a group of dinner ladies

[Richpq-2 · 17 January 2000]

It might not sound like an amusing premise, but believe me, it's funny. This is a great show from Victoria Wood, with a wonderful ensemble cast, including Celia Imrie and Julie Walters, which has got to lead to some laughs. As well as humour it's got its more serious moments, making it all-round great entertainment. Definitely one to watch.

Well written sitcom from the mind of Victoria Wood

[studioAT · 4/10 · 26 April 2016]

I had heard about 'Dinnerladies' prior to the sad death of Victoria Wood, its star and writer, but had never watched a full episode.

I agree with all the people who for years have banged on about it being a good sitcom. It is cleverly written, funny and at times poignant. All of the characters are well written and it feels like a true ensemble, albeit with Wood's character at the centre.

It's not my favourite sitcom of all time, but that's due to taste. However the quality of the writing and character acting cannot be denied.

Victoria Wood will be much missed.

Bitter Sweetness

[jenny_r81 · 23 January 2000]

The way in which "dinnerladies" is presented is enough to endear you to the show on its own. Each of the characters are simply that - their own little character more often than not in their own little world. The humour comes from their interaction and their experiences, and Victoria Wood's unique writing style.

The single setting means that every now and then, there are references to events we haven't seen, or in some cases, not even been mentioned before, which gives the canteen a realistic feel (and and occasional frustrating quality!) as you realise that they do have lives outside those four walls, what kind of a life is anyone's guess.

"dinnerladies" is one of those comedies that loses none of its charm or wit on repeated viewings, and despite the fact that there won't be a third series, it is sure to be remembered.

Charming comedy which did not outstay its welcome

[Markhoni · 18 June 2003]

A whimsical observational comedy from Victoria Wood. As another contributor said, not a million miles away from the works of Allan Bennett. It featured a mixture of Wood's 'repertory company', familiar from her other shows such as Duncan Preston and Celia Imrie and talented Northern English character actors such as Sue Devaney and Thelma Barlow (both veterans of the long-running soap 'Coronation Street') The main characters were richly detailed, the lesser ones caricatures, but very recognisable types. The one false note, I feel, was struck by the character of the heroine Bren's alcoholic, fantasist mother who made occasional raucous appearances. She was a grotesque figure, out of the wilder reaches of Charles Dickens, and seemed to have been included merely to give an opportunity for Wood's old pal Julie Walters to overact shamelessly. Victoria Wood bravely decided to end this popular show after only two series while it was still fresh (like the dinnerladies' bacon butties).