Glamorous Diana Dors starred in three seasons of the Yorkshire Television sitcom 'Queenie's Castle' which ran from 1970-72. Six months after it ended, she was back on I.T.V. in 'All Our Saturdays' which alas enjoyed nothing like its predecessor's success. She played 'Di Dorkins', the brassy head of northern textile company Garsley Garments, a woman who brooks no nonsense from any man. In the first episode, she takes over as manager of an amateur rugby league team, a fairly useless lot they are too. Di - known as 'Big D' to all and sundry - is determined to get them into shape and put them at the top of the local league. The players, chauvinists to a man, regard her presence as an intrusion. Her first act as manager is to rename the team 'The Frilly Things'...
Quite a few of the 'Queenie's Castle' writers moved over to Dors' new show, among them Stuart Harris, Oliver Free, and Peter Robinson and David Rutherford. Tony Caunter, who had been 'Jack' in 'Queenie's Castle', supported Dors in this too, as 'Ken Hicks'. Other familiar faces in the cast included Anthony Jackson ( 'Trevor' from 'Bless This House' ) as 'Frank Bosomworth', John Comer ( 'Sid' from 'Last Of The Summer Wine' ) as 'Wilf' the coach, and Doug Fisher ( 'Larry Simmonds' from 'Man About The House' ) as Jack-The-Lad-type 'Ronnie Rendell'. Roy Holder made occasional appearances as outspoken television rugby commentator ( and thorn in the side of Big D and her team ) 'Trevor Fish'. The bit of the show I remember most involves Fish. The first episode opens with him standing on a rugby pitch, addressing television viewers. "Good afternoon", he says, "Welcome to International Rugby League.". Before he can utter another word, the players wrestle him to the ground as though mistaking him for the ball. Soon Fish has disappeared under a sea of jostling bodies. When we next see him he is in hospital!
Perhaps it was a bit too soon after 'Queenie's Castle' for viewers to accept Dors in another sitcom role. Some critics grumbled that this was a carbon copy of that earlier show, except that instead of sons she'd acquired a rugby team. Only six episodes were made. Dors never did another sitcom. In 1989 Cherie Lunghi did a similar show ( only it was not a comedy ) called 'The Manageress' which was about a woman running a football team.
'All Our Saturdays' exists complete in the archives.
Quite a few of the 'Queenie's Castle' writers moved over to Dors' new show, among them Stuart Harris, Oliver Free, and Peter Robinson and David Rutherford. Tony Caunter, who had been 'Jack' in 'Queenie's Castle', supported Dors in this too, as 'Ken Hicks'. Other familiar faces in the cast included Anthony Jackson ( 'Trevor' from 'Bless This House' ) as 'Frank Bosomworth', John Comer ( 'Sid' from 'Last Of The Summer Wine' ) as 'Wilf' the coach, and Doug Fisher ( 'Larry Simmonds' from 'Man About The House' ) as Jack-The-Lad-type 'Ronnie Rendell'. Roy Holder made occasional appearances as outspoken television rugby commentator ( and thorn in the side of Big D and her team ) 'Trevor Fish'. The bit of the show I remember most involves Fish. The first episode opens with him standing on a rugby pitch, addressing television viewers. "Good afternoon", he says, "Welcome to International Rugby League.". Before he can utter another word, the players wrestle him to the ground as though mistaking him for the ball. Soon Fish has disappeared under a sea of jostling bodies. When we next see him he is in hospital!
Perhaps it was a bit too soon after 'Queenie's Castle' for viewers to accept Dors in another sitcom role. Some critics grumbled that this was a carbon copy of that earlier show, except that instead of sons she'd acquired a rugby team. Only six episodes were made. Dors never did another sitcom. In 1989 Cherie Lunghi did a similar show ( only it was not a comedy ) called 'The Manageress' which was about a woman running a football team.
'All Our Saturdays' exists complete in the archives.
