| Genre | Sitcom; Legal drama |
|---|---|
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Home station | BBC Radio 4 |
| Syndicates | BBC Radio 7 |
| TV adaptations | Chambers |
| Starring | John Bird Sarah Lancashire Lesley Sharp James Fleet Jonathan Kydd |
| Written by | Clive Coleman |
| Produced by | Paul Schlesinger |
| Original release | 17 April 1996 (1996-04-17) – 30 March 1999 (1999-03-30) |
| No. of series | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 14 |
| Chambers | |
|---|---|
| Written by | Clive Coleman |
| Directed by | John Stroud Gareth Carrivick |
| Starring | John Bird Sarah Lancashire Nina Wadia James Fleet Jonathan Kydd |
| Composer | Jody Talbot |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 12 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Geoffrey Perkins |
| Producer | Paul Schlesinger |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC One |
| Release | 15 June 2000 (2000-06-15) – 2 September 2001 (2001-09-02) |
Chambers is a BBC radio and television sitcom. It was written by barrister Clive Coleman and starred John Bird, Sarah Lancashire, James Fleet and Jonathan Kydd in both versions. The radio version was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in three series between 1996 and 1999,[1] and the television version was broadcast on BBC One. The theme music was "Dance with Mandolins" from Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet.
Premise
John Fuller-Carp (John Bird) is the monstrously egotistical and avaricious barrister heading Forecourt Chambers. His colleagues are Hilary Tripping (James Fleet), a rather ineffectual young man, Ruth Quirke (Lesley Sharp, later Sarah Lancashire), initially a rather militantly left wing feminist, and Vince Griffiths, the barristers' clerk. After Lesley Sharp left the role after the first radio series and Sarah Lancashire took over, Ruth became more of a comic neurotic, but many of the 'original' Ruth's harder characteristics were later given to the character who replaced her in the second television series, Alex Kahn (Nina Wadia).
Radio
Main cast
- John Bird as John Fuller-Carp
- James Fleet as Hilary Tripping
- Lesley Sharp as Ruth Quirke (Series 1)
- Sarah Lancashire as Ruth Quirke (Series 2 & 3)
- Jonathan Kydd as Vince Griffiths
Guest cast
Guest actors included Rebecca Front, Ben Crowe, Joanna Monro, Geoffrey Whitehead, Peter Gunn, Tilly Gaunt, Natalie Walter, Simon Greenall, John Rowe and Emma Clarke and Jeremy Clyde
Episodes
All episodes wee written by Clive Coleman.
Series 1
| No. in series | Title | Original air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chambers | 17 April 1996 |
| 2 | The Right to Silence | 24 April 1996 |
| 3 | The Cab Rank Rule | 1 May 1996 |
| 4 | Trial by Television | 8 May 1996 |
| 5 | The American | 15 May 1996 |
Series 2
| No. in series | Title | Original air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Only the Lonely | 11 May 1998 |
| 2 | The Masons | 18 May 1998 |
| 3 | The Phantom Barrister | 25 May 1998 |
| 4 | A Case with a View | 1 June 1998 |
| 5 | Conditional Fees | 8 June 1998 |
Series 3
| No. in series | Title | Original air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rent Arrears | 9 March 1999 |
| 2 | A Pain in the Back | 16 March 1999 |
| 3 | Outward Bound | 23 March 1999 |
| 4 | It's Only Words | 30 March 1999 |
Television
Main cast
- John Bird as John Fuller-Carp
- Sarah Lancashire as Ruth Quirke (Series 1) (2000)
- Nina Wadia as Alex Kahn (Series 2) (2001)
- James Fleet as Hilary Tripping
- Jonathan Kydd as Vince Griffiths
Guest cast
Guest actors included Elizabeth Berrington, John Leslie, Sara Stewart, Geoffrey Whitehead, Martin Trenaman, Robert Duncan, Roger Allam, Jeremy Clyde, John Hodgkinson, John Rowe, Robert Duncan and Donald Gee.
Episodes
All episodes were written by Clive Coleman, and directed by John Stroud (series 1) and Gareth Carrivick (series 2).
Series 1
| No. in series | Title | Original air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | It's Only Words | 15 June 2000 |
| 2 | Trial by Television | 22 June 2000 |
| 3 | Rent Arrears | 29 June 2000 |
| 4 | Phantom Barrister | 6 July 2000 |
| 5 | The Masons | 13 July 2000 |
| 6 | Only the Lonely | 20 July 2000 |
Series 2
| No. in series | Title | Original air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Conditional Fees | 22 July 2001 |
| 2 | Survival Trek | 29 July 2001 |
| 3 | The Bomb Scare | 5 August 2001 |
| 4 | A Pain in the Back | 19 August 2001 |
| 5 | The Bequest | 26 August 2001 |
| 6 | A Case with a View | 2 September 2001 |
References
- ^ "BBC Radio 4 Extra – Chambers".
External links
- Chambers at BBC Online Comedy Guide
- British Comedy and Drama website episode guide
- Chambers at British Comedy Guide
- Chambers .mw-parser-output .noitalic{font-style:normal}(television) at IMDb
