The Life and Loves of a She-Devil (TV series)

The Life and Loves of a She-Devil is a 1986 British drama serial produced by the BBC and adapted from Fay Weldon's 1983 novel The Life and Loves of a She-Devil. It won four British Academy Television Awards including Best Drama Series.

The Life and Loves of a She-Devil
Genre	Drama
Based on	The Life and Loves of a She-Devil by Fay Weldon
Written by	Ted Whitehead
Directed by	Philip Saville
Starring	Dennis Waterman Patricia Hodge Julie T. Wallace
Theme music composer	Peter Filleul
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of episodes	4
Production
Running time	60 minutes
Original release
Network	BBC Two
Release	8 October (1986-10-08) – 29 October 1986 (1986-10-29)

Plot

The story concerns married couple Ruth and Bobbo, who are on the verge of separating as Bobbo is having an affair with romantic novelist Mary Fisher. After Bobbo leaves Ruth and moves in with Mary, Ruth develops a plan to get her revenge on both of them.

Cast

The cast of the drama includes:

• Dennis Waterman as Bobbo
• Patricia Hodge as Mary Fisher
• Julie T. Wallace as Ruth
• Miriam Margolyes as Nurse Hopkins
• John Bluthal as Angus
• John Rowe as Dr Rohn
• Stephen Greif as Dr Ghengis
• Tom Baker as Father Ferguson
• Bernard Hepton as Judge Bissop

Production

Writing

The adaptation by Ted Whitehead was faithful to the novel with only minor changes from the book.

Locations

It was partly shot at the Belle Tout Lighthouse at Beachy Head near Eastbourne in East Sussex.

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
1	"Episode 1"	Philip Saville	Ted Whitehead	8 October 1986 (1986-10-08)
Ruth is devastated when she realizes that her husband Bobbo has been cheating on her, and when he finally abandons her, and their two children, she decides that she will do anything to get revenge on Bobbo and his mistress, romantic novelist Mary Fisher.
2	"Episode 2"	Philip Saville	Ted Whitehead	15 October 1986 (1986-10-15)
Ruth takes on a number of different roles and aliases to get her revenge, including starting to study accountancy, and working in a care home with Mary's mother, and having sex with a lot of different men to desensitize herself.
3	"Episode 3"	Philip Saville	Ted Whitehead	22 October 1986 (1986-10-22)
Because Ruth burnt down their family home, Bobbo and Mary have to let Bobbo's two children live with them, which spoils their romantic plans, meanwhile Ruth gets Mary's mother kicked out of her care home, and she moves in to Mary's home as well.
4	"Episode 4"	Philip Saville	Ted Whitehead	29 October 1986 (1986-10-29)
Mary realizes that Ruth is targeting her, and the stress and worry is making her sick, so she turns to a priest for help but she doesn't suspect that the priest is in Ruth's thrall. Meanwhile Ruth gets Bobbo sent to jail, and starts to takes over Mary's life and identity.

Awards

Year	Award	Category	Nominated artist/work	Result
1987	British Academy Television Awards	Best Drama Series	Sally Head, Philip Saville	Won
		Best Actress	Julie T. Wallace	Nominated
		Best Video Lighting	John King	Won
		Best Video Cameraman	Mike Winser, John Hawes	Won
		Best VTR Editor	Malcolm Banthorpe, Dave Jervis	Won
		Best Make Up	Elizabeth Rowell	Nominated
		Best Costume Design	Joyce Mortlock	Nominated
		Best Graphics	Michael Graham-Smith	Nominated
		Best Original Television Music	Peter Filleul	Nominated
1988	CableACE Awards	Writing a Movie or Miniseries	Ted Whitehead	Won
		Actress in a Movie or Miniseries	Julie T. Wallace	Nominated
		Make-Up	Elizabeth Rowell	Nominated

External links

• The Life and Loves of a She-Devil at IMDb
• The Life and Loves of a She-Devil at BBC
• The Life and Loves of a She-Devil at the BFI's Screenonline