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	~~{{More citations needed\|date=November 2012}}~~
	{{Infobox television		{{Infobox television
	\| image = BabesInTheWood.jpg		\| image = BabesInTheWood.jpg
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	#Episode Six (17 August 1999)		#Episode Six (17 August 1999)
	#Episode Seven (24 August 1999)		#Episode Seven (24 August 1999)

	~~== See also ==~~

	* [[List of sitcoms known for negative reception]]

	==References==		==References==

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{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2014}}
{{More citations needed|date=November 2012}}
{{Infobox television
| image = BabesInTheWood.jpg
| caption = Opening titles of ''Babes in the Wood''
| genre = [[Situation comedy|Sitcom]]
| runtime = 13x30 minutes 1x45 minutes
| creator =
| starring = [[Karl Howman]] [[Denise van Outen]] [[Natalie Walter]] [[Samantha Janus]] Madeleine Curtis
| country = United Kingdom
| network = [[ITV Network|ITV]]
| first_aired = {{start date|1998|7|23|df=y}}
| last_aired = {{end date|1999|9|3|df=y}}
| num_series = 2
| num_episodes = 14
}}
'''''Babes in the Wood''''' is a [[Television in the United Kingdom|British]] [[British sitcom|sitcom]] that aired on [[ITV Network|ITV]] from 1998 to 1999. Starring [[Karl Howman]] and [[Denise van Outen]], ''Babes in the Wood'' was written by Geoff Deane, [[Paul Alexander (British writer)|Paul Alexander]], Simon Braithwaite, Ian Searle and Fleur Costello.<ref>{{cite web|author=Guilty Crushes |url=http://www.independent.ie/national-news/now-women-are-behaving-badly-too-439892.html |title=Now women are behaving badly too |work=The Irish Independent |accessdate=2012-11-21}}</ref>

==Cast==
*[[Denise van Outen]] – Leigh Jackson
*[[Natalie Walter]] – Caralyn Monroe/Munroe
*[[Karl Howman]] – Charlie Lovall
*Mark Hayford – Benito
*[[Samantha Womack|Samantha Janus]] – Ruth Ford/Frause ''(series 1 and 1998 special)''
*Madeleine Curtis – Francesca "Frankie" Fraiser-Jones ''(series 2)''
*James Buller – Nick ''(series 2)''

==Plot==
''Babes in the Wood'' revolves around three women in their 20s who share a flat in [[St John's Wood]] in [[London]]. Leigh is streetwise and tough, while Ruth is bossy and Caralyn is ditzy. In the flat next door lives Charlie Lovall, the former owner of a video shop whose divorce has cost him dearly, although he still has his [[Porsche]]. Leigh works as a [[waiter|waitress]] for [[Public school (UK)|public school]]-educated Benito at the nearby ''Bar Coda''. Ruth marries an old millionaire and leaves after the first series and is replaced by would be [[model (person)|model]] Frankie.

==Production==
The creator and writer was [[Geoff Deane]] and it was produced by Lucky Dog, the company founded by Deane and producer Kenton Allen.<ref name=brown>{{cite news|last=Brown|first=Maggie|title=Girls will be Babes|newspaper=The Guardian|date=20 July 1998|page=C6}}</ref> Deane had got the germ of the concept from his play, ''Three Cups of Sugar'' that had toured in 1990, which focused on divorced and near-broke businessman Martin Lovall (Charlie Lovall in the TV series) forced to rent a downmarket flat; his three 'attractive young neighbours', although much mentioned by him, are never actually seen on-screen in that version. The show took a long time to get to the screen: it was in production for five years, with a pilot episode featuring an almost totally different cast, that was only broadcast in 2001 (after the TV series was discontinued) and a long casting process.

The show faced high expectations on its launch, due to the contemporary lack of good-quality mainstream British comedy and ITV's desire for a big hit. It was intended to rival the American show ''[[Friends]]'',<ref>{{cite journal|title=Carlton starts sponsor talks for new sitcom|journal=Marketing Week|date=28 May 1998|pages=12}}</ref> and ITV showed their confidence by ordering a Christmas special before the first series was broadcast.<ref name=brown/>

==Critical reaction==
Maggie Brown found it funny though a bit contrived and possibly unrealistic in its portrayal of the girls' living arrangements. She praised Van Outen's repartee with Hayford.<ref name=brown/> Other reactions were less favourable. ''The Times'' called it "very shoddy".<ref>{{cite news|title=Carry on Denise – Interview|newspaper=The Times|date=11 September 1999|page=Times Magazine 16}}</ref> ''The Rough Guide to British Cult Comedy'' called it "hackneyed".<ref>{{cite book|last=Hall|first=Julian|title=The Rough Guide to British Cult Comedy|url=https://archive.org/details/roughguidetobrit00hall|url-access=registration|year=2006|pages=[https://archive.org/details/roughguidetobrit00hall/page/131 131]|publisher=Rough Guides|isbn=9781843536185}}</ref> The ''Daily Mirror'' was highly critical of [[Claire King]]'s guest appearance.<ref>{{cite news|last=Purnell|first=Tony|title=LAST NIGHT'S VIEW|newspaper=Daily Mirror (UK)|date=25 August 1999|page=24}}</ref>

In an overview of ITV programmes, Stuart Heritage named ''Babes in the Wood'' as one of the worst shows in the network's history. He described ''Babes in the Wood'' "a show where some babes live in St John’s Wood and literally nothing else happens"<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/sep/22/brideshead-revisited-celebrity-wrestling-best-worst-itv-60 "Brideshead Revisited or Celebrity Wrestling: the best and worst of ITV"] ''The Guardian'', 22 September 2015. Retrieved 24 September 2015.</ref>

==Episodes==

===Series one (1998)===
#Episode One (23 July 1998)
#Episode Two (30 July 1998)
#Episode Three (6 August 1998)
#Episode Four (13 August 1998)
#Episode Five (20 August 1998)
#Episode Six (27 August 1998)

===Christmas special (1998)===
*Christmas Special (45 minutes) (30 December 1998)

===Series two (1999)===
#Episode One (13 July 1999)
#Episode Two (20 July 1999)
#Episode Three (27 July 1999)
#Episode Four (3 August 1999)
#Episode Five (10 August 1999)
#Episode Six (17 August 1999)
#Episode Seven (24 August 1999)

== See also ==

* [[List of sitcoms known for negative reception]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{IMDb title|id=0145599|title=Babes in the Wood}}
*{{British Comedy Guide|tv|babes_in_the_wood|Babes in the Wood}}
*[[Mark Lewisohn]], "Radio Times Guide to TV Comedy", BBC Worldwide Ltd, 2003
*[http://www.phill.co.uk/comedy/babes/index.html ''Babes in the Wood''] at British TV Comedy

{{DEFAULTSORT:Babes In The Wood}}
[[Category:1998 British television series debuts]]
[[Category:1999 British television series endings]]
[[Category:Carlton Television]]
[[Category:English-language television shows]]
[[Category:ITV sitcoms]]
[[Category:Television shows set in London]]
[[Category:Television series by ITV Studios]]

Babes in the Wood (TV series) - Revision history

Kurt at 22:29, 14 February 2023

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en>Citation bot: Add: isbn. | Use this bot. Report bugs. | Suggested by Abductive | Category:Television shows set in London | #UCB_Category 125/639