Footballers' Wives
Encyclopedia
Footballers' Wives is a British television drama
surrounding the fictional Premier League Association football club Earls Park F.C., its players, and their wives. It was broadcast on the ITV
network from 8 January 2002 to 14 April 2006. The show began with a multi-lateral focus on a variety of different types of relationships explored; however, from the third series onward, the primary focus was on a complex love triangle between Tanya Turner
(Zöe Lucker
), Amber Gates
(Laila Rouass
) and Conrad Gates
(Ben Price
).
(Zöe Lucker). Lucker left the series halfway through series four, though she returned midway through the next series. However, by this time the series ratings had fallen significantly,therefore certifying Lucker as the main star of the show even though the series was cancelled in 2006.
On 11 January 2007, Channel 5's sister channel Five Life bought up the rights to broadcast the entire series. It has so far shown the first series, with the first episode shown on 7 March 2007 at 9pm. The series was then taken over by ITV. Fiver then started showing episodes from the second series. From June 2010, Footballers' Wives began appearing on the new channel CBS Drama
being followed by a huge marketing campaign in print media and on the sides of buses.
In the earlier series, Earls Park Football Club's home games were played at the real life Selhurst Park
, which is the home of Crystal Palace Football Club
. From series three onward, stadium shots were filmed at White Hart Lane
.
The U.S. ABC
television network ordered a pilot for an American version, named Football Wives
. Lucy Lawless
, Gabrielle Union
, Eddie Cibrian
, Kiele Sanchez
and James Van Der Beek
were confirmed as part of the cast but ABC cancelled the show due to "potential conflicts with the National Football League
".
, who is married to the beautiful, yet vile, Tanya Turner
, TV's megabitch. Tanya is too busy to worry about the affair as she tries to save her husband's job when club owner Frank Laslett buys 'Italian stallion' Sal Biagi, who takes Jason's job. Tanya and Jason take matters into their own hands on the way home from a club dinner, and in a drunken brawl, Tanya puts Frank into a coma. With the help of Jason, they push his car off the side of the road, making it look like a drunken accident. Series one was produced by Liz Lake.
and Kyle Pascoe
raise Jackie Pascoe's baby son, Paddy, as their own. At the end of the series, Jason sits on the rooftop, drunk and feeling sorry for himself, but as he slips and desperately grasps for a life-saving hold on the ledge, an unseen (by the audience) assailant hits his hands with a champagne bottle, causing Jason to fall to his death. Series two was produced by Claire Phillips.
, and has to put up with his jealous wife, Amber Gates
. Tanya and Amber soon became arch enemies, and have a vicious catfight. Amber Gates fakes her own kidnapping when Conrad starts seeing Tanya. Harley Lawson and Shannon Donnelly
's lives are turned upside down when he becomes Earls Park's new signing. Conrad also has an affair with new signing Noah Alexander. The season ends with a shocking cliffhanger. Tanya is pregnant with Frank's child. She killed Frank for his money by "shagging him to death" on a lethal combination of Viagra, alcohol and cocaine. When Amber Gates announces that she is pregnant with Conrad's child, Tanya tries to keep Conrad by claiming that she too is expecting his child. Series three was produced by Sean O'Connor
. This series was nominated for a National Television Award in 2004, the only time the series was nominated.
and Lucy Milligan
have an adorable daughter, Angelica, but their marriage is eroding due to control-freak Bruno's emotional and sometimes physical abuse of Lucy. Lucy meets Dr. Giles Arrowsmith on the Internet and runs to him with Angelica in tow. He tries to kill Lucy, Angelica and himself in his car, believing he is re-creating the accident that killed his real fiancée the previous year. Bruno accidentally shoots Conrad, thinking he is Giles. The final episode was considerably edited for broadcast on ITV1, though the full episode was shown in Ireland and Australia. The episode was not restored for the DVD release. Series four was produced by Cameron Roach.
themed wedding, Amber takes the lead as the central character and wastes no time getting revenge on Bruno as she knows he killed Conrad. She moves in with him and inflicts her own brand of psychological torture on him by making him think he is losing his mind. Becoming more desperate, Amber tries to poison, then shoot, Bruno. In Amber's last and surely campest scene, she is shown wearing what looks like one of Cher's old costumes. In the struggle, she shoots Roger Webb, who loses his sight. Amber is then sectioned and sent to a mental institute for bleeding on the brain. Shannon, now divorced from Harley and feeling lonely, is delighted to hook up with the new Earls Park signing, Callum Watson. Shannon moves Callum in, but his interfering mother comes along and causes havoc. New characters include Tremaine Gidigbi
and Liberty Baker
, who marry in episode 5 in an Egyptian-themed, typically over-the-top wedding. Liberty, a top supermodel with a striking resemblance to Naomi Campbell
, is exposed by the press for having a lesbian affair with her P.A. Urszula Rosen
, then stars in a Japanese advert that makes her look like a cannibal. With Amber out of the way, Tanya returns and immediately aims to seduce Earls Park's latest star, Paulo Bardoso, and goes head-to-head with Eva de Wolffe
(Joan Collins
, best known as Dynasty
character Alexis Colby
). Tanya's joy at snatching Paulo from Eva's clutches is short-lived; he has a breakdown and is taken to a mental hospital, and Tanya finds herself penniless. New club chairman Garry Ryan kills Roger, and Jackie leaves to live with her son Kyle in Australia. Tanya discovers evidence that proved Garry's involvement. However, as series five ends, Tanya is trying to come to a "settlement" with Garry over the tape-recording that proves he caused Roger's death, when he offers her cocaine laced with poison. Series five was produced by Cameron Roach.
's Hotel Babylon
during the first half of the series. Despite a comeback to win the competition against BBC One's The Family Man (lead-in from Hotel Babylon), the figures did not reach expectations.
mini-episode entitled The Last Ever, Ever Footballers' Wives as part of Sport Relief
, that was broadcast during the live telethon. The six-minute episode featured four cast members from the last season, Zöe Lucker
, Sarah Barrand
, Laila Rouass
and Ben Richards
, who played their respective roles, with Sport Relief host Graham Norton
playing new Sparks captain Brendan Spunk.
. When Tanya tries to get her claws into him, he reveals he is with Amber. He then lets them know she will soon be Mrs. Spunk and Amber accepts.
Brendan is then in bed grinning and moaning. Tanya appears from under the covers, as does Amber, complimenting his sexual score. Shannon also appears and realises that "someone has put one in the back of her net". The waiter from the restaurant then appears. The door blasts open and Bruno enters holding a machine gun. They all scream, but when everyone has stopped Brendan is still screaming. Amber slaps him. Bruno then relates to the last series, that Brendan has bedded his girlfriend (Amber). She then says that they split up. Bruno then reveals that there will be no series 6 and he then shoots the gun. The group are then shown uninterested and reading Heat
magazine. Bruno then blows up the room by setting fire to hair spray with a lighter. A title card reading "The End" is then shown but a question mark shows after and an alarm clock goes off.
Tanya wakes up relieved by the fact that the last series was all a dream. She then lights a cigarette and due to hairspray still being in the air she blows herself and the room up.
Between the third and fourth series of Footballers' Wives, Zöe Lucker
's character of Tanya Turner
was convicted of possession of drugs and was sent to jail for six months. The company which produces the show, Shed Media
, also produce Bad Girls, which centres around a women's prison. For three episodes of Bad Girls sixth series, the character of Tanya Turner crossed over and was seen being her usual self and causing mischief for others in jail, including being arrested for poisoning inmates. Turner was eventually released when a series of events lead to the Governor forcing a criminal to confess to planting the drugs on her.
Many of the principal characters are thinly veiled caricatures of famous UK footballers, including Justin Fashanu
and David Beckham
, and their associated wives. Several of the players' antics are based on real life news stories based on footballers' lives, similar to the modern day footballer tabloid tales, or the 1990s Liverpool F.C Spice Boys
side, with everything ranging from scandals to the indulgences of being rich and famous.
A number of celebrities made cameo appearances in the series, appearing as themselves. They include: Sol Campbell
, Peter Stringfellow
, Tara Palmer-Tomkinson
, Jordan, Antony Worrall Thompson
, Peter Andre
, Lionel Blair
, David Seaman
, Richard Madeley
, Judy Finnigan
, Teddy Sheringham
, Nigel Quashie
, Calum Best
and Rula Lenska
.
series, Footballers' Wives: Extra Time
that began on ITV2
on 26 May 2005. It appeared after series four of the original and several characters, including Bruno and Lucy Milligan, Seb Webb, Harley and Shannon Lawson, Katie Jones and Amber Gates, appeared. The first series features the sister of Tanya Turner
, Anika Beevor. Series two began on 23 February 2006 with Peter Ash
as Darius Fry and Julie Le Grand
as Janette Dunkley from the original series as regular cast members. Nicholas Ball
, who portrayed Garry Ryan in the series, crossed over to Footballers' Wives for series 5 as the new Chairman of Earl's Park Football Club. The series' executive producer was Cameron Roach. It was shown in the United States under the name Footballers' Wives: Overtime.
, Brazil
, New Zealand
, Sweden
, Iceland
, Ireland
, Israel
, Australia
, Canada
, Colombia
, Bulgaria
, Germany
, the Republic of Macedonia
, France
, Estonia
, Finland
, South Africa
, Hungary
, Serbia
, Slovenia
, Denmark
and the United States
. The Swedish broadcaster Kanal 5 retitled the show "Fotbollsfruar", which translates to Football Wives.
It began in the United States in the summer of 2005 on BBC America
. The channel has shown series 1-5 and both seasons of Overtime.
In South Africa the show appeared on SABC 3 on Monday nights at 21h00. It was very popular. Aall five series have been shown.
The show appears in Ireland on TV3
. Many Irish viewers receive Ulster Television (UTV
) (a subsidiary of ITV) and also watch it on that channel. Often, the same episodes air at the same time.
In Turkey, Footballers' Wives is on e2
. e2
has shown the first four series; the fifth season will be shown in spring.
In 2007 in the Netherlands, a similar series, Voetbalvrouwen
(a literal Dutch translation) was launched. It was a huge success and in 2010 season 3 will appear on the Dutch channel RTL4. The original Footballers' Wives series were also shown in the Netherlands with Dutch subtitles.
In Germany, RTL
made an attempt in 2005 to recreate the look and feel of the show with an adapted version, called Das geheime Leben der Spielerfrauen (The Secret Life of Footballers' Wives). The original scripts were rewritten to appeal to a German audience. The show failed terribly and was cancelled after only four episodes. The original show is currently shown on TIMM
.
In Slovenia, Footballers' Wives is appearing on Kanal A
as Žene nogometašev.
In Italy, Mediaset produced its own version of the series, Ho sposato un calciatore. It was axed after one series.
In June 2007, the show was being shown in Latin-America on the Fox Life channel.
The show is received in various parts of Asia (for example Singapore
) on the BBC Entertainment
cable channel.
In Canada, CBC Television
launched a similar series, MVP
, in early 2008. That show's creator acknowledged Footballers' Wives as an inspiration, but chose to base the series on ice hockey
rather than directly adapting Footballers' Wives, as she felt that some elements of the original series — particularly the broad campiness
of some British humour — would not translate well to a Canadian audience.
in the United Kingdom and Australia and Series 1-3 have been released on DVD in the United States.
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
surrounding the fictional Premier League Association football club Earls Park F.C., its players, and their wives. It was broadcast on the ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
network from 8 January 2002 to 14 April 2006. The show began with a multi-lateral focus on a variety of different types of relationships explored; however, from the third series onward, the primary focus was on a complex love triangle between Tanya Turner
Tanya Turner
Tanya Louise Turner Federico is a fictional television character. She is the lead character on the ITV drama Footballers' Wives, and also briefly appeared on the drama Bad Girls. Tanya is portrayed by English actress Zöe Lucker and is the only character credited for the entire series from the...
(Zöe Lucker
Zöe Lucker
Zöe Elizabeth Lucker is an English actress best known for playing the roles of Tanya Turner on ITV's Footballers' Wives and Vanessa Gold in EastEnders.-Career:...
), Amber Gates
Amber Gates
Amber Gates is a fictional character on ITV British drama Footballers' Wives, loosely based on Victoria Beckham and played by English actress Laila Rouass.-Biography:...
(Laila Rouass
Laila Rouass
Laila Abdesselam Rouass is a British actress. She is best known for her role as Amber Gates in the British television drama Footballers' Wives and as Sarah Page in the third season of Primeval .-Career:...
) and Conrad Gates
Conrad Gates
Conrad Gates is a fictional character from the British TV show Footballers' Wives, played by Ben Price; he is a parody of real-life football player David Beckham.-Series 3:...
(Ben Price
Ben Price
Ben Price is a British actor, best known for playing the third incarnation of Nick Tilsley in the ITV soap opera, Coronation Street...
).
Background
The show centres around the fictional 'Earls Park Football Club' (nicknamed 'Sparks'). The series was produced by Liz Lake, Claire Phillips and Cameron Roach. Its executive producer was Brian Park. The show began as an ensemble of three different 'types' of football couple. However, from the third series on, the show more or less revolved around the character Tanya TurnerTanya Turner
Tanya Louise Turner Federico is a fictional television character. She is the lead character on the ITV drama Footballers' Wives, and also briefly appeared on the drama Bad Girls. Tanya is portrayed by English actress Zöe Lucker and is the only character credited for the entire series from the...
(Zöe Lucker). Lucker left the series halfway through series four, though she returned midway through the next series. However, by this time the series ratings had fallen significantly,therefore certifying Lucker as the main star of the show even though the series was cancelled in 2006.
On 11 January 2007, Channel 5's sister channel Five Life bought up the rights to broadcast the entire series. It has so far shown the first series, with the first episode shown on 7 March 2007 at 9pm. The series was then taken over by ITV. Fiver then started showing episodes from the second series. From June 2010, Footballers' Wives began appearing on the new channel CBS Drama
CBS Drama
CBS Drama is a television channel in the United Kingdom and Ireland - home of 'modern US TV classics'.On 14 September 2009, it was revealed that the international arm of CBS, CBS Studios International, struck a joint venture deal with Chellomedia to launch six CBS-branded channels in the UK during...
being followed by a huge marketing campaign in print media and on the sides of buses.
In the earlier series, Earls Park Football Club's home games were played at the real life Selhurst Park
Selhurst Park
Selhurst Park is an English football stadium located in the London suburb of South Norwood in the Borough of Croydon. It is the current home ground of Crystal Palace Football Club. Its present capacity is 26,309.-History:...
, which is the home of Crystal Palace Football Club
Crystal Palace F.C.
Crystal Palace Football Club are an English Football league club based in South Norwood, London. The team plays its home matches at Selhurst Park, where they have been based since 1924. The club currently competes in the second tier of English Football, The Championship.Crystal Palace was formed in...
. From series three onward, stadium shots were filmed at White Hart Lane
White Hart Lane
White Hart Lane is an all-seater football stadium in Tottenham, London, England. Built in 1899, it is the home of Tottenham Hotspur and, after numerous renovations, the stadium has a capacity of 36,230....
.
The U.S. ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
television network ordered a pilot for an American version, named Football Wives
Football Wives
Football Wives is a television pilot developed for U.S. television network ABC, which would have aired in the fall 2007 season had it been picked up for a series order...
. Lucy Lawless
Lucy Lawless
Lucy Lawless, MNZM is a New Zealander actress and singer best known for playing the title character of the internationally successful television series Xena: Warrior Princess....
, Gabrielle Union
Gabrielle Union
Gabrielle Monique Union is an American actress and former model. Among her notable roles is as the cheerleader opposite Kirsten Dunst in the film Bring it On. Union starred opposite Will Smith and Martin Lawrence in the blockbuster film Bad Boys II and played a medical doctor in the CBS drama...
, Eddie Cibrian
Eddie Cibrian
Edward Carl "Eddie" Cibrian is an American actor. He is known for his television roles as Cole Deschanel on Sunset Beach, Jesse Cardoza in CSI: Miami, Jimmy Doherty on Third Watch and Russell Varon in Invasion.-Early life and career:...
, Kiele Sanchez
Kiele Sanchez
Kiele Michelle Sanchez is an American actress who stars in the A&E Network drama The Glades. Previously she starred as the second-eldest Sorelli sister, Anne, a therapist in her mid-twenties, in The WB's comedic ensemble drama, Related. She was cast as a co-star in the third season of the ABC...
and James Van Der Beek
James Van Der Beek
James William Van Der Beek, Jr. is an American television, film, and stage actor, known for his portrayal of Dawson Leery in The WB series Dawson's Creek...
were confirmed as part of the cast but ABC cancelled the show due to "potential conflicts with the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
".
Series 1 (2002)
Series one was shown between 8 January and 26 February 2002 with eight episodes. The series follows a group of footballers' wives whose husbands play for Earls Park (nicknamed "Sparks"). Ian Warmsley, Sparks' latest signing, deals with his up-and-coming success. His wife Donna is more concerned with getting their son back from the woman who adopted him after her parents forced her to give him up when she was a teenager. Trouble crops up when their 8-year-old daughter is kidnapped in the final episode of the series. Donna's younger sister Marie is staying with them, causing trouble. She has a secret fling with the Sparks' mid-fielder and ruthless bad boy Jason TurnerJason Turner (Footballers' Wives)
Jason Turner was a fictional character on ITV British drama Footballers' Wives, played by English actor Cristian Solimeno.-Character history:...
, who is married to the beautiful, yet vile, Tanya Turner
Tanya Turner
Tanya Louise Turner Federico is a fictional television character. She is the lead character on the ITV drama Footballers' Wives, and also briefly appeared on the drama Bad Girls. Tanya is portrayed by English actress Zöe Lucker and is the only character credited for the entire series from the...
, TV's megabitch. Tanya is too busy to worry about the affair as she tries to save her husband's job when club owner Frank Laslett buys 'Italian stallion' Sal Biagi, who takes Jason's job. Tanya and Jason take matters into their own hands on the way home from a club dinner, and in a drunken brawl, Tanya puts Frank into a coma. With the help of Jason, they push his car off the side of the road, making it look like a drunken accident. Series one was produced by Liz Lake.
Series 2 (2003)
Series two was shown between 8 January and 26 February 2003 with eight episodes. Series 2 begins with with Tanya and Jason in court, lying on oath. The British population is convinced that Frank is deranged and that he tried to rape Tanya. Charges are dropped, and Tanya walks away scot-free. Chardonnay Lane-PascoeChardonnay Lane-Pascoe
Carol Susan 'Chardonnay' Pascoe was a fictional character on the ITV1 television series Footballers' Wives, loosely based on glamour model Jordan and played by Susie Amy...
and Kyle Pascoe
Kyle Pascoe
Kyle Patrick Pascoe is a fictional character in the ITV British drama Footballers' Wives, played by English actor Gary Lucy.-Series 1:Kyle is engaged to Chardonnay Lane, who gave him an early wedding present of a race horse. Chardonnay was set on fire at her hen party, and did not want to proceed...
raise Jackie Pascoe's baby son, Paddy, as their own. At the end of the series, Jason sits on the rooftop, drunk and feeling sorry for himself, but as he slips and desperately grasps for a life-saving hold on the ledge, an unseen (by the audience) assailant hits his hands with a champagne bottle, causing Jason to fall to his death. Series two was produced by Claire Phillips.
Series 3 (2004)
Series three was shown between 11 February 7 April 2004, with nine episodes. The series begins with Chardonnay's funeral following her death from anorexia. It is also revealed that she killed Jason. Tanya married Frank Laslett as Jason had left her in debt. He also wanted her to admit that he did not rape her, and that Jason had made her lie in court. Kyle finds new romance. Tanya had an affair with the new captain Conrad GatesConrad Gates
Conrad Gates is a fictional character from the British TV show Footballers' Wives, played by Ben Price; he is a parody of real-life football player David Beckham.-Series 3:...
, and has to put up with his jealous wife, Amber Gates
Amber Gates
Amber Gates is a fictional character on ITV British drama Footballers' Wives, loosely based on Victoria Beckham and played by English actress Laila Rouass.-Biography:...
. Tanya and Amber soon became arch enemies, and have a vicious catfight. Amber Gates fakes her own kidnapping when Conrad starts seeing Tanya. Harley Lawson and Shannon Donnelly
Shannon Donnelly-Lawson
Shannon Lawson is a fictional character on ITV British drama Footballers' Wives, played by English actress Sarah Barrand...
's lives are turned upside down when he becomes Earls Park's new signing. Conrad also has an affair with new signing Noah Alexander. The season ends with a shocking cliffhanger. Tanya is pregnant with Frank's child. She killed Frank for his money by "shagging him to death" on a lethal combination of Viagra, alcohol and cocaine. When Amber Gates announces that she is pregnant with Conrad's child, Tanya tries to keep Conrad by claiming that she too is expecting his child. Series three was produced by Sean O'Connor
Sean O'Connor
Sean O'Connor is an Irish businessman and political activist. He is a co-founder of Rally Ireland, a round of the World rally Championship . In 2009 he joined the Automobile and Touring Club of the UAE as Director of Strategy to assist in the staging of the first Abu Dhabi Formula 1 Grand Prix...
. This series was nominated for a National Television Award in 2004, the only time the series was nominated.
Series 4 (2005)
The fourth was shown between 31 March and 26 May 2005 with nine episodes. Tanya and Amber both have their babies; Tanya had the babies swapped at birth to hide the possibility that hers could be Frank's, but this backfired when Amber's son (Tanya's, really) was smothered to death by Amber's dog. When the swap was discovered, Conrad and Amber claimed their rightful baby back and banished Tanya abroad. The footballers are involved in a rape scandal during a party in Spain. Shannon and Harley have marriage problems and eventually split up. Darius turns out to be the rapist of Katie in Spain, and has a breakdown when she kidnaps him for revenge. Jackie Pascoe marries club manager Roger Webb, who signs his son Seb to the club. Seb tries to cause trouble in their marriage, and is thrown out. Hazel leaves the club with her new girlfriend, a tennis player. New characters BrunoBruno Milligan
Bruno Milligan is a fictional character on ITV British dramas Footballers' Wives and Footballers' Wives: Extra Time, played by English actor Ben Richards.-Series 4:Bruno was first introduced on the trip to Spain. He has a wife and daughter...
and Lucy Milligan
Lucy Milligan
Lucy Lockheart is a fictional character on ITV British dramas Footballers' Wives and Footballers' Wives: Extra Time, played by English actress Helen Latham.-Series 4:...
have an adorable daughter, Angelica, but their marriage is eroding due to control-freak Bruno's emotional and sometimes physical abuse of Lucy. Lucy meets Dr. Giles Arrowsmith on the Internet and runs to him with Angelica in tow. He tries to kill Lucy, Angelica and himself in his car, believing he is re-creating the accident that killed his real fiancée the previous year. Bruno accidentally shoots Conrad, thinking he is Giles. The final episode was considerably edited for broadcast on ITV1, though the full episode was shown in Ireland and Australia. The episode was not restored for the DVD release. Series four was produced by Cameron Roach.
Series 5 (2006)
The fifth and final series was shown between 23 February and 13 April 2006 with eight episodes. After Lucy leaves Bruno at the altar of their Pride and PrejudicePride and Prejudice
Pride and Prejudice is a novel by Jane Austen, first published in 1813. The story follows the main character Elizabeth Bennet as she deals with issues of manners, upbringing, morality, education and marriage in the society of the landed gentry of early 19th-century England...
themed wedding, Amber takes the lead as the central character and wastes no time getting revenge on Bruno as she knows he killed Conrad. She moves in with him and inflicts her own brand of psychological torture on him by making him think he is losing his mind. Becoming more desperate, Amber tries to poison, then shoot, Bruno. In Amber's last and surely campest scene, she is shown wearing what looks like one of Cher's old costumes. In the struggle, she shoots Roger Webb, who loses his sight. Amber is then sectioned and sent to a mental institute for bleeding on the brain. Shannon, now divorced from Harley and feeling lonely, is delighted to hook up with the new Earls Park signing, Callum Watson. Shannon moves Callum in, but his interfering mother comes along and causes havoc. New characters include Tremaine Gidigbi
Tremaine Gidigbi
Tremaine Gidigbi is a fictional character on ITV British drama Footballers' Wives, played by English actor Chucky Venice.-Series 5:Tremaine is first introduced in prison, where he is being released after a sentence for GBH. He then gets into a limo with his long-time girlfriend Liberty Baker...
and Liberty Baker
Liberty Baker
Liberty Gidigbi is a fictional character on ITV British drama Footballers' Wives, played by English actress Phina Oruche. She is a parody of English model Naomi Campbell.-Character Description:...
, who marry in episode 5 in an Egyptian-themed, typically over-the-top wedding. Liberty, a top supermodel with a striking resemblance to Naomi Campbell
Naomi Campbell
Naomi Campbell is a British model. Scouted at the age of 15, she established herself among the top three most recognisable and in-demand models of the late 1980s and early 1990s, and she was one of six models of her generation declared "supermodels" by the fashion world...
, is exposed by the press for having a lesbian affair with her P.A. Urszula Rosen
Urszula Rosen
Urszula Rosen is a fictional character on ITV British drama Footballers' Wives, played by Lucia Giannecchini.-Series 5:Urszula is a lesbian who engaged in a sexual affair with her boss Liberty Baker whilst the latter's boyfriend Tremaine Gidigbi was in prison...
, then stars in a Japanese advert that makes her look like a cannibal. With Amber out of the way, Tanya returns and immediately aims to seduce Earls Park's latest star, Paulo Bardoso, and goes head-to-head with Eva de Wolffe
Eva de Wolffe
Eva de Wolffe is a recurring fictional character on ITV drama, Footballers' Wives. She is played by English actress Joan Collins.-Character history:Eva de Wolffe is a 70 year old publisher, introduced at Heathrow Airport in the middle of the fifth series...
(Joan Collins
Joan Collins
Joan Henrietta Collins, OBE , is an English actress, author, and columnist. Born in Paddington and raised in Maida Vale, Collins grew up during the Second World War. At the age of nine, she made her stage debut in A Doll's House and after attending school, she was classically trained as an actress...
, best known as Dynasty
Dynasty (TV series)
Dynasty is an American prime time television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 12, 1981 to May 11, 1989. It was created by Richard & Esther Shapiro and produced by Aaron Spelling, and revolved around the Carringtons, a wealthy oil family living in Denver, Colorado...
character Alexis Colby
Alexis Colby
Alexis Colby is a fictional character and the primary antagonist on the American TV series Dynasty....
). Tanya's joy at snatching Paulo from Eva's clutches is short-lived; he has a breakdown and is taken to a mental hospital, and Tanya finds herself penniless. New club chairman Garry Ryan kills Roger, and Jackie leaves to live with her son Kyle in Australia. Tanya discovers evidence that proved Garry's involvement. However, as series five ends, Tanya is trying to come to a "settlement" with Garry over the tape-recording that proves he caused Roger's death, when he offers her cocaine laced with poison. Series five was produced by Cameron Roach.
Cancelled
In May 2006, it was announced by Shed Productions and ITV that no further series of Footballers' Wives would be commissioned. Its cancellation had been blamed on falling ratings, particularly during the fifth series when it was frequently beaten for audience share in its timeslot by BBC OneBBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
's Hotel Babylon
Hotel Babylon
Hotel Babylon was a BBC television drama series based on the book of the same name by Imogen Edwards-Jones, that aired from 19 January 2006 to 14 August 2009, produced by independent production company Carnival Films for BBC One...
during the first half of the series. Despite a comeback to win the competition against BBC One's The Family Man (lead-in from Hotel Babylon), the figures did not reach expectations.
Sport Relief special
On Saturday 15 July 2006 in the UK, the BBC made a spoofParody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
mini-episode entitled The Last Ever, Ever Footballers' Wives as part of Sport Relief
Sport Relief
Sport Relief is a biennial charity event from Comic Relief, in association with BBC Sport, which brings together the worlds of sport and entertainment to raise money to help vulnerable people in both the UK and the world's poorest countries...
, that was broadcast during the live telethon. The six-minute episode featured four cast members from the last season, Zöe Lucker
Zöe Lucker
Zöe Elizabeth Lucker is an English actress best known for playing the roles of Tanya Turner on ITV's Footballers' Wives and Vanessa Gold in EastEnders.-Career:...
, Sarah Barrand
Sarah Barrand
Sarah Barrand is an English actress known for her role as Shannon Donnelly-Lawson in Footballers Wives and its ITV2 spin-off Footballers' Wives: Extra Time...
, Laila Rouass
Laila Rouass
Laila Abdesselam Rouass is a British actress. She is best known for her role as Amber Gates in the British television drama Footballers' Wives and as Sarah Page in the third season of Primeval .-Career:...
and Ben Richards
Ben Richards
Ben Richards is an English actor. He is best known for playing Bruno Milligan in series 4 and 5 of the British TV drama Footballers' Wives and in series 1 and 2 of its spin-off Footballers' Wives: Extra Time...
, who played their respective roles, with Sport Relief host Graham Norton
Graham Norton
Graham William Walker, known by his stage name Graham Norton , is an Irish actor, comedian, television presenter and columnist...
playing new Sparks captain Brendan Spunk.
Synopsis
The episode opens with Tanya waltzing into a swanky expensive restaurant, with her face covered in 'powder'. She is having dinner with Shannon, who has ordered for her from the children's menu. Tanya finds it hard to use the cutlery because of her longer nails and instead, uses her fingers. A waiter then arrives with a telephone call for Shannon, but she takes the phone and puts it into her purse. Shannon then claims to have "gone" and asks what has happened. Tanya tells her that "Paulo has had a sex change and shacked up with James Blunt, oh, and Bruno Milligan has been sacked from Earls Park and has been replaced by a brand new hunky Irish captain, Brendan Spunk". We then see Amber over at the bar and Tanya soon notices her. The three then gossip about Brendan Spunk, but when the girls argue over who is going to get with him, Shannon claims him but Tanya warns them that he is hers. He then arrives, revealing himself to be Graham NortonGraham Norton
Graham William Walker, known by his stage name Graham Norton , is an Irish actor, comedian, television presenter and columnist...
. When Tanya tries to get her claws into him, he reveals he is with Amber. He then lets them know she will soon be Mrs. Spunk and Amber accepts.
Brendan is then in bed grinning and moaning. Tanya appears from under the covers, as does Amber, complimenting his sexual score. Shannon also appears and realises that "someone has put one in the back of her net". The waiter from the restaurant then appears. The door blasts open and Bruno enters holding a machine gun. They all scream, but when everyone has stopped Brendan is still screaming. Amber slaps him. Bruno then relates to the last series, that Brendan has bedded his girlfriend (Amber). She then says that they split up. Bruno then reveals that there will be no series 6 and he then shoots the gun. The group are then shown uninterested and reading Heat
Heat
In physics and thermodynamics, heat is energy transferred from one body, region, or thermodynamic system to another due to thermal contact or thermal radiation when the systems are at different temperatures. It is often described as one of the fundamental processes of energy transfer between...
magazine. Bruno then blows up the room by setting fire to hair spray with a lighter. A title card reading "The End" is then shown but a question mark shows after and an alarm clock goes off.
Tanya wakes up relieved by the fact that the last series was all a dream. She then lights a cigarette and due to hairspray still being in the air she blows herself and the room up.
Inspiration and connections
Zöe Lucker
Zöe Elizabeth Lucker is an English actress best known for playing the roles of Tanya Turner on ITV's Footballers' Wives and Vanessa Gold in EastEnders.-Career:...
's character of Tanya Turner
Tanya Turner
Tanya Louise Turner Federico is a fictional television character. She is the lead character on the ITV drama Footballers' Wives, and also briefly appeared on the drama Bad Girls. Tanya is portrayed by English actress Zöe Lucker and is the only character credited for the entire series from the...
was convicted of possession of drugs and was sent to jail for six months. The company which produces the show, Shed Media
Shed Media
Shed Media Group is a British creator and distributor of television content. The Group produces long-running television brands in drama, factual, documentary, factual entertainment, and history....
, also produce Bad Girls, which centres around a women's prison. For three episodes of Bad Girls sixth series, the character of Tanya Turner crossed over and was seen being her usual self and causing mischief for others in jail, including being arrested for poisoning inmates. Turner was eventually released when a series of events lead to the Governor forcing a criminal to confess to planting the drugs on her.
Many of the principal characters are thinly veiled caricatures of famous UK footballers, including Justin Fashanu
Justin Fashanu
Justinus Soni "Justin" Fashanu was an English footballer who played for a variety of clubs between 1978 and 1997. He was known by his early clubs to be homosexual, and came out to the press later in his career, to become the first professional footballer to be openly gay...
and David Beckham
David Beckham
David Robert Joseph Beckham, OBE is an English footballer who plays midfield for Los Angeles Galaxy in Major League Soccer, having previously played for Manchester United, Preston North End, Real Madrid, and A.C...
, and their associated wives. Several of the players' antics are based on real life news stories based on footballers' lives, similar to the modern day footballer tabloid tales, or the 1990s Liverpool F.C Spice Boys
Spice Boys (footballers)
The Spice Boys was a media term used to describe a group of Liverpool F.C. footballers in the mid-late 1990s, seen typically as being composed of Jamie Redknapp, David James, Phil Babb, Steve McManaman, Robbie Fowler, Stan Collymore and Jason McAteer...
side, with everything ranging from scandals to the indulgences of being rich and famous.
A number of celebrities made cameo appearances in the series, appearing as themselves. They include: Sol Campbell
Sol Campbell
Sulzeer Jeremiah "Sol" Campbell is an English footballer who is currently a free agent. A central defender, Campbell has played for Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Portsmouth, Notts County and Newcastle United, as well as the English national team.Born in East London to Jamaican parents, Campbell's...
, Peter Stringfellow
Peter Stringfellow
Peter James Stringfellow is an English nightclub owner.-Early life:Stringfellow was born on 17 October 1940 to Elsie and James William Stringfellow , a steelworker...
, Tara Palmer-Tomkinson
Tara Palmer-Tomkinson
Tara Palmer-Tomkinson also known as T P-T, is an English socialite, "it girl", television presenter, columnist and model...
, Jordan, Antony Worrall Thompson
Antony Worrall Thompson
Henry Antony Cardew Worrall Thompson is a British celebrity chef, television presenter and radio broadcaster.-Biography:...
, Peter Andre
Peter André
Peter James Andrea , better known by the stage name as Peter Andre, is an English-born Australian musician, singer-songwriter, television personality and businessman. As a recording artist, he has achieving four top 10 UK albums and ten top 10 singles.-Early life:Andre was born at Northwick Park...
, Lionel Blair
Lionel Blair
Lionel Blair is a British actor, choreographer, tap dancer and television presenter. He is the son of Myer Ogus and Deborah Greenbaum...
, David Seaman
David Seaman
David Andrew Seaman MBE is a former English football goalkeeper who played for several clubs, most notably Arsenal. He retired from the game on 13 January 2004, following a recurring shoulder injury...
, Richard Madeley
Richard Madeley
Richard Madeley is a British television presenter and columnist. With his wife Judy Finnigan, Madeley has presented This Morning and later the weekday chat show Richard & Judy...
, Judy Finnigan
Judy Finnigan
Judith "Judy" Finnigan is a British television presenter and columnist. She has usually co-presented with her husband, Richard Madeley, and the two are collectively known, informally, as Richard and Judy...
, Teddy Sheringham
Teddy Sheringham
Edward Paul "Teddy" Sheringham MBE is a retired English footballer, and the father of footballer Charlie Sheringham. Sheringham played as a striker, and had a successful career at the club level, winning almost every domestic honour available with his clubs, most notably the Treble with Manchester...
, Nigel Quashie
Nigel Quashie
Nigel Francis Quashie is a British footballer who has played more than 300 games in the Football League. He plays as a midfielder, and has represented Scotland, the country of his grandfather, at full international level. He was released by Queens Park Rangers in 2010.-Personal life:Quashie was...
, Calum Best
Calum Best
Calum Milan Best is a British-American former fashion model turned celebrity, and television personality.-Career:...
and Rula Lenska
Rula Lenska
Rula Lenska is an English actress. Best known for her work in the United Kingdom, she is remembered in the United States for a television advert that presented her as a celebrity, even though she was not widely known in the US at the time the advert was produced.She has appeared extensively on...
.
Footballers' Wives: Extra Time
With the success of Footballers' Wives came the spin-offSpin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
series, Footballers' Wives: Extra Time
Footballers' Wives: Extra Time
Footballers' Wives: Extra Time is a British drama programme. A spin-off of Footballers' Wives, the programme aired on ITV2 for two series...
that began on ITV2
ITV2
ITV2 is a 24 hour, free-to-air entertainment television channel in the United Kingdom owned by ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc. It was launched on 7 December 1998, and is available on digital television via satellite, cable, IPTV and terrestrial platforms. The channel has the...
on 26 May 2005. It appeared after series four of the original and several characters, including Bruno and Lucy Milligan, Seb Webb, Harley and Shannon Lawson, Katie Jones and Amber Gates, appeared. The first series features the sister of Tanya Turner
Tanya Turner
Tanya Louise Turner Federico is a fictional television character. She is the lead character on the ITV drama Footballers' Wives, and also briefly appeared on the drama Bad Girls. Tanya is portrayed by English actress Zöe Lucker and is the only character credited for the entire series from the...
, Anika Beevor. Series two began on 23 February 2006 with Peter Ash
Peter Ash
Peter Ash , is an actor from Moston, Manchester, England who has starred in the British TV series Casualty and Footballers Wives....
as Darius Fry and Julie Le Grand
Julie Le Grand
Julie Legrand is a British television, film, and stage actress best known for her role as Jeanette Dunkley on Footballers' Wives and Footballers' Wives: Extra Time. On both of these television shows, she is credited as a main cast member...
as Janette Dunkley from the original series as regular cast members. Nicholas Ball
Nicholas Ball (British actor)
Nicholas Ball is an English actor.He is best known for playing the title role of James Hazell in the television series Hazell....
, who portrayed Garry Ryan in the series, crossed over to Footballers' Wives for series 5 as the new Chairman of Earl's Park Football Club. The series' executive producer was Cameron Roach. It was shown in the United States under the name Footballers' Wives: Overtime.
Foreign audience
Footballers' Wives has been shown in PortugalPortugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, the Republic of Macedonia
Republic of Macedonia
Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
, Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The Swedish broadcaster Kanal 5 retitled the show "Fotbollsfruar", which translates to Football Wives.
It began in the United States in the summer of 2005 on BBC America
BBC America
BBC America is an American television network, owned and operated by BBC Worldwide, and available on both cable and satellite.-History:The channel launched on March 29, 1998, broadcasting comedy, drama and lifestyle programs from BBC Television and other British television broadcasters like ITV and...
. The channel has shown series 1-5 and both seasons of Overtime.
In South Africa the show appeared on SABC 3 on Monday nights at 21h00. It was very popular. Aall five series have been shown.
The show appears in Ireland on TV3
TV3 Ireland
TV3 is a free-to-air commercial television network in the Republic of Ireland. Launched on 20 September 1998 it was Ireland's first commercial broadcaster. The channel is owned by TV3 Group a subsidiary of Doughty Hanson & Co.-The TV3 Group:...
. Many Irish viewers receive Ulster Television (UTV
UTV
UTV is a television channel based in the UK region of Northern Ireland. The channel is the Channel 3 or Independent Television licensee for Northern Ireland and is operated by UTV Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of UTV Media.- Terrestrial :* Analogue: Normally tuned to 3 * Freeview : 3...
) (a subsidiary of ITV) and also watch it on that channel. Often, the same episodes air at the same time.
In Turkey, Footballers' Wives is on e2
E2 (TV channel)
e2 is a Turkish television channel that often broadcasts American series. It is owned by the Doğuş Group.-Entertainment programmes:The following is an incomplete list of shows which have aired and/or are currently airing on e2:* 24...
. e2
E2 (TV channel)
e2 is a Turkish television channel that often broadcasts American series. It is owned by the Doğuş Group.-Entertainment programmes:The following is an incomplete list of shows which have aired and/or are currently airing on e2:* 24...
has shown the first four series; the fifth season will be shown in spring.
In 2007 in the Netherlands, a similar series, Voetbalvrouwen
Voetbalvrouwen
Voetbalvrouwen is a Dutch dramedy favourably compared to Footballers' Wives. Three seasons have been taped since 2006; the first was shown in 2007 on the demissionary channel Tien, the second and third on RTL.-Cast:...
(a literal Dutch translation) was launched. It was a huge success and in 2010 season 3 will appear on the Dutch channel RTL4. The original Footballers' Wives series were also shown in the Netherlands with Dutch subtitles.
In Germany, RTL
RTL Television
Rtl.de' redirects here. For other uses, see RTL.RTL Television , or simply RTL, is a German commercial television station distributed via cable and satellite along with DVB-T , in larger population centres...
made an attempt in 2005 to recreate the look and feel of the show with an adapted version, called Das geheime Leben der Spielerfrauen (The Secret Life of Footballers' Wives). The original scripts were rewritten to appeal to a German audience. The show failed terribly and was cancelled after only four episodes. The original show is currently shown on TIMM
TIMM
TIMM is a German language free-to-air cable and satellite service from Germany targeting gay male audiences. It was first launched on November 1, 2008. It was also available over a live stream....
.
In Slovenia, Footballers' Wives is appearing on Kanal A
Kanal A
Kanal A is the first commercial television station in Slovenia. The television program, which has been operating within PRO PLUS d.o.o., has national coverage. In its primary target group of viewers , Kanal A is the second most watched TV programme in Slovenia...
as Žene nogometašev.
In Italy, Mediaset produced its own version of the series, Ho sposato un calciatore. It was axed after one series.
In June 2007, the show was being shown in Latin-America on the Fox Life channel.
The show is received in various parts of Asia (for example Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
) on the BBC Entertainment
BBC Entertainment
BBC Entertainment is an international television channel showcasing comedy, drama, light entertainment and children's programming from the BBC and other UK production houses...
cable channel.
In Canada, CBC Television
CBC Television
CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
launched a similar series, MVP
MVP (TV series)
MVP is a 2008 Canadian television series that debuted January 11, 2008 on CBC Television....
, in early 2008. That show's creator acknowledged Footballers' Wives as an inspiration, but chose to base the series on ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
rather than directly adapting Footballers' Wives, as she felt that some elements of the original series — particularly the broad campiness
Camp (style)
Camp is an aesthetic sensibility that regards something as appealing because of its taste and ironic value. The concept is closely related to kitsch, and things with camp appeal may also be described as being "cheesy"...
of some British humour — would not translate well to a Canadian audience.
DVD releases
Series 1-5 have been released on DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
in the United Kingdom and Australia and Series 1-3 have been released on DVD in the United States.
| Footballers' Wives: The Complete First Series | ||||
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Set Details | Special Features | ||
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| Release Dates | ||||
| 27 January 2003 | 3 February 2003 | 7 June 2005 | ||
| Footballers' Wives: The Complete Second Series | ||||
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| Release Dates | ||||
| 9 February 2004 | 16 February 2004 | 6 December 2005 | ||
| Footballers' Wives: The Complete Third Series | ||||
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Set Details | Special Features | ||
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| Release Dates | ||||
| 25 April 2005 | 2 May 2005 | 19 September 2006 | ||
| Footballers' Wives: The Complete Fourth Series | ||||
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Set Details | Special Features | ||
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| Release Dates | ||||
| 20 March 2006 | 27 March 2006 | [unknown] | ||
| Footballers' Wives: The Complete Fifth Series | ||||
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Set Details | Special Features | ||
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| Release Dates | ||||
| 9 October 2006 | 10 October 2006 | [unknown] | ||
External links
- Footballers' Wives official website
- BBC America - Footballers Wives