Welcome to Stella Street

This web site is a guide to Stella Street, and aims to encourage appreciation and dissipate knowledge about this terrific comedy series.

NEWS FLASH: Series 1 and 2 are now available on DVD, issued by Universal Playback. They’re both vanilla DVDs and the menu is the same as the series 3 DVD, but it’s still great to have these two classic series on durable discs! Please click the covers below to order your copies at £11.99, and join the mailing list for updates. Also available is Phil Cornwell on the World of Pub DVD. At last, a chance to enjoy this severely underrated series properly. I still say it’s the nearest British comedy has come to the style of The Simpsons. You can also read my comments on the Amazon product pages, if you like.

You can see some clips from Stella Street on YouTube, although most of these seem to be from the Movie.

Introduction

Stella Street is a British TV comedy programme featuring the many impressions and creations of comedy-actors Phil Cornwell and John Sessions (joined by Ronnie Ancona for the Movie). Between them, they fill Stella Street, Surbiton, with some of the most famous people from stage and screen from the last 40 years, plus a few of the local residents, and Jimmy Hill. The show is directed by Peter Richardson, founder of the Comic Strip club and director/producer of the Comic Strip Presents… films, amongst other things. It is written by Peter Richardson and the cast. The show is produced by Ben Swaffer. Stella Street consists of 4 series and one feature-length Movie of brilliant character comedy, witty exchanges, satire and make-up. The first series is ten 10 minute shows, the second ten 15 minute shows, the third ten 10 minute shows and the fourth six 10 minute shows. The Movie is 79 minutes long. Stella Street first appeared on BBC2 over the 1997–1998 Christmas/New Year period.

In addition to the above, there is a 40 minute special from the series 3 footage (“The Man Who Drove Sheep to Bruges”), with some additional bits from the first series and alternative edits; this episode’s extended length was responsible for gaining the attention of many people who had previously missed the show. The show pops up often on television channels throughout the world (especially Australia on SBS) and in-flight comedy channels. It is also available on video and DVD, to an increasing degree.

In 2001, the former Broadcasting Standards Commission upheld a complaint against Stella Street. (Thanks to Ben for tracking that down.)

If you have just come across Stella Street (you could have been looking for Kwik Save where they’ve got a 20% discount on skinless chicken wings) take a look round the site, tell us what you think, then join the mailing list on YahooGroups to stay abreast of developments. Then buy the videos and DVD, and finally tell your friends!

The webmaster’s Opinion: (My head is full of thoughts, not all of them nice)

Series 1 was remarkable. Not only was it the first comedy show on BBC2 where unrestrained swearing was allowed, but the density and quality of dialogue and characterisations was stunning. Nearly every line was worthy of classic quote status. (I do not think we had another show that was so quotable until The Office a good few years later.) Series two built on this success, with slightly more intricate plots and higher production values. More generic characters started to creep in, but were always kept at bay behind a wall of celebrity, and were very funny (Pam Slurrey, the “Home Counties Whore”, for instance). Series 2 contained many magic moments and fantastic quotes.

When I first saw series three I was disappointed: the intricate plot (where there had been none to speak of originally) revolved mainly around the generic characters (Len, Mrs Huggett, Pam Slurrey). The stars were relegated to supporting roles while Mrs Huggett went in search of her husband Norm. Also, the style of the scripts changed: there cannot be more than half a dozen quotes on the quotes page from this series (cf. series 1 and 2). Each line existed to advance the plot, not be funny in itself. In place of the rapid-fire cutting and editing came the sort of direction that I’d expect to see in a Comic Strip film, relying on plots much more than character, and out of place in a ten minute show.

The goal of assembling the special from the Seaford footage affected the flow of the series, making the Seaford sections quite weak if watched in ten minute chunks. The switch from character to plot as the central concern is all too apparent. The best bits of series 3 occur in Surbiton in the first few episodes, and usually involve Jimmy Hill, who does have some classic lines (e.g. “Before last Friday I’d never had my stomach pumped”). The storyline of the asteroid headed for Earth peters out completely, leaving one with the feeling that all the effort went into the Seaford footage, and the street scenes were shot to make it up to ten episodes. The 40 minute special combined flashbacks from series 1 with the least funny (i.e. Seaford) scenes from series 3, with many of the funny bits reduced or nonexistent (Jack Flatley has only a brief appearance; the Mr Gale’s Honey Bee sequence has disappeared).

The longer running time of the Series 3 special did at least increase the programme’s visibility (as was borne out by the increase in hits to this site at the time).

However, on a recent rewatching of series 3, I was very pleasantly surprised by how well the show had stood up. It seemed funnier than I remembered it, with the slower pace paying dividends. Be warned, however, that the show is quite different in pace to the first two series. Overall, series 3 of Stella Street is still superb when compared to nearly all other TV comedy. Plus, it’s the only series on DVD at the moment!

I am in no doubt that Phil, John and Peter could make Stella Street into a feature length episode (Peter and John have much experience of making films already, of course), but to structure it around some not very funny generic characters somewhat missed the point. Inevitably, a shift from character to plot is required the longer a work gets, and to keep up Stella Street’s 10 minute energy in a feature length episode or movie would make a film that was exhausting to watch.

Series 4 proved, overall, to be disappointing. It had a few great moments, but one is left thinking, what’s the point? To quote a contribution to the YahooGroups list (and picking up on the general sentiment of the fans): “[series 4] had better be your best, or it will be your last.” It should be. So if you’ve only seen series 4, be assured that while there are some similarities in style, this is not representative of the brilliance of the first three series.

Production of the movie of Stella Street, for Sony Pictures, has now been completed. John Goldstone (Life of Brian) is the executive producer. Ronnie Ancona is very talented (up there with Jan Ravens), and has worked with Alistair McGowan for many years, so the results should take Stella Street in a completely new direction. I hope that it will restore the magic of the first three series, and wish the guys all the best. I will be updating this site as soon as I have any information, plus the mailing list is kept informed.

The Cast

• David Attenborough (voice only)
• The Beatles: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr
• Victoria Beckham (AKA Posh Spice)
• Tony Blackburn
• Dirk Bogarde (no. 56)
• David Bowie (no. 2)
• Wilfred Brambell (as Albert Steptoe)
• Marlon Brando (no. 56)
• Michael Caine (no. 48)
• Tommy Cooper
• Harry H Corbett (as Harold Steptoe)
• David Essex
• Jack Flatley
• Alec Guinness (just passing through)
• Tony Hancock
• Jimmy Hill (no. 53)
• Alfred Hitchcock
• Dustin Hoffman (lodging with Mrs Huggett)
• John Hurt (Michael Caine's tenant)
• Mick Jagger (the corner shop)
• Des Lynam (wandering around Seaford)
• Princess Margaret (just passing through)
• Patrick Moore
• Roger Moore
• Van Morrison (performing in Seaford)
• Jack Nicholson
• Al Pacino
• Joe Pesci
• Keith Richards (the corner shop)
• Alan Rickman (lodging with Jimmy Hill)
• Sir James Saville (lodging with Jimmy Hill)
• James Stewart (in the past with Mrs Huggett)
• Sting (performing in Seaford)
• John Thaw
• Kenneth Williams

All parts are played by Phil Cornwell and John Sessions (with Ronnie Ancona). For full details, see the Cast and Characters page.