Six Shades of Black

1 9 6 5 (UK)
6 x 60 minute episodes

These hour-long black comedies from Granada Television presented stories revolving around a central female figure, and while each story was self-contained, the hero of one play was the villain of the next, illustrating the character’s good and bad sides.

Settings included a chicken farm in Sussex, a sumptuous palace in Tangiers, the tea room at the House of Lords, a luxury hotel in the south of France and the beach underneath a pier.

Pamela Brown opened the series in ‘The Good Woman of Chester Square’ as Lady Masterman, an ex-QC who was now a life peeress engaged in philanthropic work. She also appeared in the final episode, set in Tangiers, ‘There is a Happy Land’.

Ursula Howells played a hard-bitten reporter, and Janet Kelly was a chicken farmer’s daughter who becomes a pop star. Faith Brook was an American married to an English detective, and Pauline Munro was an ex-stripper and good-time girl on holiday in the south of France. Nyree Dawn Porter shared a London penthouse flat with her husband, five lovers and a pet python called Alvis.

Other cast members included Penelope Keith, Richard O’Sullivan, Bill Fraser, Nina Baden-Semper, Frank Thornton, Henry McGee, Peter Bull and Thorley Walters.

The series was written and produced by Peter Wildeblood.

Episodes

The Good Woman of Chester Square | Of Men and Angels (A Touch of Uplift) | The Finer Things of Life | A Loving Disposition | The Kindest Thing to Do | There is a Happy Land