Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders
‘Astonished at their non-inclusion!’
I’m astonished at the non-inclusion of French and Saunders – constantly employing and showcasing female talent in every series where they’ve had a role in choosing those involved. If you want to see one of the most extensive collections of outstanding women on screen in recent years, just check out Jam and Jerusalem. MaggyBurrowes
Esther Rantzen
‘She led the way in good cause TV’
It’s difficult to imagine now, but That’s Life, hosted and co-produced by Esther Rantzen, a campaigning journalistic force whose legacy can be seen all over the current TV landscape, regularly gathered audiences of 20 million viewers. She led the way in making good-cause TV mainstream. Alongside items on musical pets and strange shaped vegetables, the show campaigned on issues such as the mandatory wearing of seatbelts for children, drug addiction, organ donation and much more. Most notably, in response to stories on child abuse, Rantzen used the show as the platform for launching Childline. allsinging
Lucille Ball
‘A good eye for popularity and quality’
Another vote for Lucille Ball. She and Desi Arnaz helped revolutionise TV by insisting on a multiple-camera, post-produced film setup for I Love Lucy, rather than the live performance and Kinescope that was still standard at the time.
And after their divorce, ran their production company Desilu with a good eye for popularity and quality, the most notable shows from her time in charge being Star Trek and Mission: Impossible. Mariner70
Amy Poehler
‘Deserves a bigger mention’
I think Amy Poehler deserves a bigger mention for writing a character in Parks and Recreation who is funny and a bit neurotic but also really good at her job, dreams of being president, and is an excellent friend to boot. deltajones
Angela Lansbury
‘The dominator’
Angela Lansbury, star of the silver screen and then the dominator of the small one. You underestimate her at your peril. People laugh at Murder, She Wrote, but Jessica Fletcher was a strong independent older woman, well respected in Cabot Cove but also an uninhibited global traveller comfortable in any milieu.
That fact that it is so studiedly inoffensive is its greatest asset: it is still shown everywhere, all the time and in places where Jessica’s unbowed independence still might be considered edgy. Lansbury knew exactly what she was making and takes, I believe, a significant business interest in it. You can make a case for something capturing the zeitgeist, sure, but Murder, She Wrote operates on a higher, more majestic tier: that of global soft influence. Excession77
Rachel Bloom
‘I can’t wait to see what she does next’
Rachel Bloom (and Aline Brosh McKenna) from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend have produced a show that features one of the most nuanced portrayals of a woman on the verge. Rebecca Bunch’s mental health issues have been the source of the comedy, but never trivialised.
Bloom has gone from YouTube parody songs to Golden Globe winner and Emmy nominee with her triple threat of writing, acting and song-writing every week, while addressing themes like the travails of heavy boobs, self-loathing, the lengths of preparing for a date, Jewish mothers and much more. Pretty much every song is a different genre – rap, power ballad, Disney pastiche, boy bands, Les Mis-style epics, classic Hollywood etc. An amazing feat from a super talented woman. I can’t wait to see what she does next. cate5365
Floella Benjamin
‘Forging a path for female and black people in media’
Floella Benjamin was effortlessly great as a TV presenter, and as a child I had no idea how much she was forging a path for female and black people in media. The prejudices of the era were a mystery to me; I simply enjoyed her being on my telly. That she’s gone on to so much charity work and fundraising is just another reason to love her. DaveB
Mary Beard
‘Conveys such passion and knowledge’
Mary Beard. (Let’s not make this just about comedians and screenwriters!) She took such a lot of flak for not being “attractive” to viewers, but proved to be passionate and knowledgeable and to convey that passion and knowledge to others. Lynne James
‘The first female TV characters to take on male villains at their own game’
Honor Blackman and Diana Rigg, playing Cathy Gale and Emma Peel respectively in The Avengers alongside John Steed (Patrick MacNee), who may have been the first female TV characters to take on male villains at their own game and give them a good hiding while doing it. JFBridge
Pamela Stephenson
‘Showed female comedians can be funny and edgy as men’
Pamela Stephenson, a very talented lady in a number of fields. Not The Nine O’Clock News showed that female comedians can be funny and just as edgy as men, something we all know now but back then things were different. As she says about her standup days, “I remember envying Rik (Mayall) and the other boys for being guys.” MuchoGwapo
Sandi Toksvig
‘Led a quieter, but important revolution’
Sandi Toksvig shattered the nonsense that makes panel shows a male preserve by brilliantly taking over QI from Stephen Fry – as tough an act to follow as you could imagine – and doing it better than Fry himself. It was at a time when the BBC had just announced that the gender balance on panel shows had to improve, to cries of “political correctness gone mad” from the dinosaur classes. A quieter revolution than some of the others, perhaps, but an important one nonetheless. happylong
Janet Fielding
‘She saved Doctor Who back in the early 80s’
Janet Fielding as Tegan pretty much saved Doctor Who back in the early 80s when it was suffering from some of the same problems the show is going through now. It was Fielding’s nuanced performance of a companion who actually changed over time that made the show watchable. ArthurNorMartha
Linda Smith
‘Effortlessly able to hold her own’
I can forgive the omission of more obscure figures like the late Debbie Barham as her career was tragically short. But missing out Linda Smith is unforgivable. A brilliant comic writer who was, at the same time, effortlessly able to hold her own on shows like Have I Got News For You when others just moaned about being crowded out, she surely deserves a mention. John A
Imogene Coca
‘Unfortunately almost unknown by today’s audiences’
Unfortunately almost unknown by today’s audiences, in the 1950s, and especially in the series Your Show of Shows, Imogene Coca more than held her own against the likes of such comedic giants as Sid Caesar and Carl Reiner with her willingness to do anything for a laugh. roricus
