Chambers was a BBC radio and television sitcom. It was written by barrister Clive Coleman and starred John Bird and Sarah Lancashire 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.
| Genre | Sitcom; Legal drama |
|---|---|
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Language(s) | 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 – 30 March 1999 |
| No. of series | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 14 |
| Chambers | |
|---|---|
| Written by | Clive Coleman |
| Directed by | John Stroud |
| Starring | John Bird Sarah Lancashire Nina Wadia James Fleet Jonathan Kydd Jeremy Clyde John Hodgkinson John Rowe |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 12 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC One |
| Release | 15 June 2000 – 2 September 2001 |
John Bird plays the lead role of John Fuller-Carp, a monstrously egotistical and avaricious barrister heading Forecourt Chambers. His colleagues are Hilary Tripping, a rather ineffectual young man, and Ruth Quirke, initially a rather militantly left wing feminist. After Lesley Sharp left the role after the first series and Sarah Lancashire took over, Ruth became more of comic neurotic, but many of the 'original' Ruth's harder characteristics were later given to the character who replaced her in the second run of the television series, Alex Kahn.
Radio cast
edit- 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, the barristers' clerk
- Jeremy Clyde as Vernon Ames
Television cast
edit- 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
- Jeremy Clyde as Vernon Ames
- John Hodgkinson as Guy
- John Rowe as Judge Riseby