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| producer =
| producer =
| executive_producer = Derek Wax
| executive_producer = Derek Wax
| Graphics Designer = Philip Barratt
| starring = [[Laura Fraser]]<br />[[Ruta Gedmintas]]<br/>[[Fiona Button]]<br/>[[Emun Elliott]] <br/>[[James Pearson]]<br/>[[Roxanne McKee]]<br/>[[Heather Peace]]
| starring = [[Laura Fraser]]<br />[[Ruta Gedmintas]]<br/>[[Fiona Button]]<br/>[[Emun Elliott]] <br/>[[James Pearson]]<br/>[[Roxanne McKee]]<br/>[[Heather Peace]]
| country = United Kingdom
| country = United Kingdom

Revision as of 08:25, 26 June 2011

Lip Service
Title Card
Created byHarriet Braun
Written byHarriet Braun
Directed byJohn McKay
StarringLaura Fraser
Ruta Gedmintas
Fiona Button
Emun Elliott
James Pearson
Roxanne McKee
Heather Peace
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Production
Executive producerDerek Wax
Production companiesKudos Film & Television
BBC Scotland
Original release
NetworkBBC Three

Lip Service is a British television serial drama portraying the lives of a group of lesbians living in Glasgow, Scotland. Production on the series, which stars Laura Fraser, Ruta Gedmintas and Fiona Button, began in summer 2009 in Glasgow.[1] The show debuted on BBC Three on 12 October 2010.[2] The series will screen in Australia on the Showcase channel commencing 19th June 2011.[3] A second series was confirmed[4] with filming beginning on 30 May 2011.[5]

Cast

Actor Role
Laura Fraser Cat MacKenzie
Ruta Gedmintas Frankie Alan
Fiona Button Tess Roberts
Emun Elliott Jay Bryan Adams
James Anthony Pearson Ed MacKenzie
Roxanne McKee Lou Foster
Heather Peace Sam Murray
Natasha O'Keeffe Sadie Anderson
Cush Jumbo Becky

Episodes

№ # Title Directed by Written by Original air date Production code Viewers
11"Episode 1"John McKayHarriet Braun12 October 2010 (2010-10-12)101580,000
22"Episode 2"John McKayHarriet Braun19 October 2010 (2010-10-19)102579,000[6]
33"Episode 3"Harry BradbeerChloe Moss26 October 2010 (2010-10-26)103464,000
44"Episode 4"Harry BradbeerJulie Cearey2 November 2010 (2010-11-02)104580,000[7]
55"Episode 5"UnknownUnknown9 November 2010 (2010-11-09)105508,000[8]
66"Episode 6"UnknownUnknown16 November 2010 (2010-11-16)106TBA

Production

Braun was asked by the BBC to create a UK based lesbian drama; she stated that the first scene that came to mind when she began writing was "a woman crying in an inappropriate place after finding out her ex is seeing someone else" followed "someone returning from New York and throwing her ex into a state of panic". From those two scenes came the three lead characters: Tess, Frankie and Cat.[9]

Braun gave each of the actors an outline of their character, and then let them develop the full characterisation. For Gedmintas, this included cutting her previously long blonde hair to a close cut bob.[10] The director gave each cast member a manual on lesbian sex, which they were expected to read before shooting began.[10] The series was shot in its entirety in Glasgow in winter 2009/10.

Reception

Ratings

The first episode debuted with 580,000 viewers, picking up an additional 8,000 viewers on the BBC HD channel. It had an audience share of 4.4%.[11]

Critical response

The opening episode received mixed reviews from critics. Claudia Cahalane of The Guardian wrote that it was "hugely significant" for a drama to normalise lesbian and bisexual relationships, citing a study of BBC output which found that lesbians contributed to just two minutes of programming from a randomly selected 39 hours of broadcasts. While Cahalane expressed disappointment that the episode did not represent butch lesbians, she deemed it "important to recognise Lip Service for the great service it's doing to British lesbians."[12] Keith Watson of the Metro attacked the series' tokenism, suggesting that it included lipstick lesbian clichés to meet the BBC's diversity quota, and commenting that, "It was trying so hard to be modern and liberated but it felt tired and lazy".[13] The Independent's Amol Rajan criticized the episode's "pathetically vacuous plot", calling the series "spirit-cripplingly tedious". He expressed sympathy for the "clearly talented" cast, opining: "In trying to make a point about the importance of engaging with lesbian issues, this show ends up trivialising them. The lesbians are presented to us not as interesting people, or characters who warrant sympathy; rather, they matter purely because of their sexual preferences. That is immature, patronising, and unrealistic."[14] Evangelical pressure group the Christian Institute reported that the episode had prompted complaints from viewers over its sexual content.[15]

References

  1. ^ Johnson, Chris (23 October 2009). "Hollyoaks star Roxanne McKee goes hell for leather as she shoots 'sexiest ever' BBC drama". Daily Mail. London: Associated Newspapers. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
  2. ^ "BBC - Press Office - Network TV Programme Information BBC Week 41 Tuesday 12 October 2010". BBC Online. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
  3. ^ http://showtime.com.au/showcase/movie/104591. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. ^ "BBC - Press Office - Lip Service second series announced for BBC Three". BBC Online. Retrieved 24 December 2010.
  5. ^ Kirkpatrick, Martha (30 May 2011). "Filming starts on second series of Lip Service". atvtoday.co.uk. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
  6. ^ http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/news/a283154/first-men-in-the-moon-attracts-830k.html
  7. ^ Plunkett, John (3 November 2010). "TV ratings: Turn Back Time: The High Street opens with 5.3m". The Guardian. London.
  8. ^ http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/news/a287038/itvs-the-zoo-opens-to-34m.html
  9. ^ Braun, Harriet (5 October 2010). "BBC - BBC Three - Blog: Creating brand new lesbian drama Lip Service". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
  10. ^ a b Sarah and Lee (18 October 2010). "Great LezBritain: Interview with Ruta Gedmintas from 'Lip Service'". afterellen.com. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
  11. ^ Plunkett, John (13 October 2010). "TV ratings - 12 October: BBC3's Lip Service kicks off with 580,000 viewers". The Guardian. London: Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
  12. ^ Cahalane, Claudia (13 October 2010). "Lip Service is groundbreaking – whatever its star says". The Guardian. London: Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
  13. ^ Watson, Keith (12 October 2010). "Lip Service did lesbians a disservice". Metro. Associated Newspapers. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
  14. ^ Rajan, Amol (13 October 2010). "Last Night's TV - Lip Service, BBC3; Tom Daley: the Diver and His Dad, BBC1". The Independent. London: Independent Print Limited. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
  15. ^ "Viewers outraged over BBC's new lesbian show". www.christian.org.uk. Christian Institute. 15 October 2010. Retrieved 15 October 2010.

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