Victoria Wood Unseen on TV

by Jasper Rees, Victoria Wood

'There was none like her before and there's been none like her since' Dawn FrenchIn the five years since Victoria Wood's death, one great sadness has been the realisation that we will never again be surprised by new material from her.But as part of the research for Let's Do It, the critically acclaimed Sunday Times bestseller, her official biographer Jasper Rees uncovered a treasure chest of unseen work. From her first piece of comic prose, for the school magazine, through to material written for the great TV shows of her maturity, this joyful hoard of unreleased material spans nearly half a century.Victoria Unseen on TV is a unique and intimate insight into the working of an irreplaceable genius of comedy.From the first to the last, here are sketches, songs and stand-up monologues that no one else could have written, which will make you laugh in the way that only she could.'He was a lovely man he had a lovely gap between his two front teeth. I specially noticed it cos he had a mushy pea stuck in it. He said can I take you home I said hang on I haven't finished my Tizer. So, we get home he says can I come in for a coffee. I said I haven't got any coffee but you can come in for a Horlicks if you don't mind sucking your own lumps.'Praise for Let's Do 'Rees pulls off the trick of writing a brilliant tribute while also - somehow, almost - bringing Victoria Wood back to life in all her complicated glory.' Guardian'An immersive, authoritative book' Spectator'Impeccable' Daily Telegraph'A must-read' Daily Mirror'A joy' Daily Mail

Genres: Nonfiction, Humor, Biography

347 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 11, 2021

Reviews

[Victoria Bowmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

The sketches are great. The biography aspect is not what I bought it for. The assertions of the author are not really interesting to me.

[Ian · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the process of writing Let’s Do It, his biography of Victoria Wood, (Victoria Wood: The Authorised Biography) Jasper Rees had access to a large archive of her unpublished songs, scripts and other material. That material forms the basis for this book.

Some of the early stuff perhaps doesn’t quite hit the mark, but it’s still interesting to see the gestation stages of ideas, some of which would be returned to again and again. Victoria’s habit of producing more material than a show needed though means that there are some real gems later on. What also stands out are the texts of speeches made for awards ceremonies, school prize givings and even the wedding of friends.

Reading this makes you appreciate all the more what a great comic talent was lost when Victoria died, way too young, in 2016. This is not a book to read in public as there are times when you will laugh out loud.

[Michael Ritchie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Utterly wonderful. It's almost like having her back for a short while, and her voice is conjured up so readily, you can hear her - or her rep company - saying every word.

[Sian · Rating 3 out of 5]

An insight into some of the unseen sketches by Victoria Wood, fresh from the archive. This collection spans her entire entertainment career and it was interesting to see how her comedy, and the way she wrote her comedy, evolved. My favourites of these have to be those written for As Seen on TV - this is the show I’m most familiar with, and I could really imagine these sketches fitting right in, although I can understand why they were cut.

I’ll admit this book was a little slow-going at times, I think because it was hard to imagine the intonation of her voice, and the pace of some of the songs. The footnotes were slightly distracting, but necessary. Nevertheless, any new material of Wood’s that is being released can only be a good thing - her memory and her comedy style need to be kept alive for generations to come, because she’s totally irreplaceable.

[Gothica Noctua · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of songs, scripts, sketches and speeches from the late, great Victoria Wood. Whilst I can see why some of these were never filmed or cut from broadcast (the funnier material having made it into the shows), there are some gems here - I personally enjoyed "Tea Lady", "The Herd" and "Clancy - Interior Decorator" rather a lot. A lovely tribute piece to a much-missed comedian.

[Ben Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ive been pecking away at this a little at a time to really enjoy it as I knew I would. Does make me think where are all the deleted scenes that were filmed and can we have them on Blu Ray please?

[Sophie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The run from As Seen on TV through With All the Trimmings is by far the best here, with a few laughs around the Wood & Walters era, which I guess makes sense since that’s equally true of Victoria’s sketches and stand-up that did make it to air. The juvenilia and other pre-W&W work is interesting background, but not that funny. Likewise, I’m not big on most of her songs, but they especially don’t work on the page.

I wish her previously published, unaired work would be reprinted and that the BBC would release the filmed but unaired stuff. But if there’s more unreleased material but this was the best of it (which is what the introduction seems to imply, but maybe I’m misreading it), I think we can leave it at that.

[Edmund Chattoe-Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found it really hard to call this. Fans are probably delighted at a crack at _anything_ by VW but, personally, I think I can see why most of this material was unseen. It is always going to be an uphill struggle for lyrics without music and sketches without performance to look as good as the material we all know and love. I guess the acid test is whether people who saw this live are as happy to have it in print as I am to read my copy of Mens Sana ... when I am not watching VW in person. This book is well put together and annotated (though VW fans are exactly the people who will know what Round the Horne and Judith Hann are to popular culture so some of the footnotes feel a bit like your children explaining earnestly to you why the Beatles are so cool.) If you are a fan and, ideally, have seen her live a lot, you won't need telling to get this. If you aren't a fan, you should be, but start with the books that "go with" sketches you can also still see on DVD like Mens Sana in Thingummy Doodah and Up To You Porky.

[Brian Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely book about a very gifted lady . VW's use of words and flights of fantasy are absolute genius . Some of the sketches are hilarious especially the one about private health care . The footnotes were particularly interesting with references to people and programmes in the 50s, 60s and 70s that I remember but maybe some of the readers would not . Perhaps say something about my age.

[Sally · Rating 5 out of 5]

How wonderful to have more of the much-missed Victoria Wood - and some very interesting photos, too! Rees and team have done a great job sorting out these gems of remnants and putting them into a coherent order. There's just the right amount of explanation to enhance your enjoyment. Laughs a-plenty!

[Rosa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really an excellent book, a selection of unheard stuff from Wood's archive, much of which is very familiar (but no less enjoyable for that). Not five stars really for the tone of the commentary, giving patronising and sometimes over-explanatory vibes. Can't really pinpoint it exactly, but I did find it irritating.

[Luke · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of unseen sketches and songs from my favourite comedian ever.
Some are hilarious, in true Victoria Wood fashion — while others really give insight into the psyche of a woman who was incredibly insecure both in her position of fame, and within her own body.

[Sam Kiely · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great collection of Wood's work. Some sketchs you can really hear her voice or the voice of the actors suggested playing the scenes which is a testament to her style. Some of Rees' interval notes are a little unneeded. But highly recommend if you're a lover of Victoria Wood and her sketch comedy.

[Alex Craigie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bought as a gift for a Victoria Wood fan. I made the mistake of opening this book and ended up reading the whole thing.
It's semi-autobiography/biography, bit the biggest surprise for me was the volume of material that I'd never come across before. Highly recommended!

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of sketches, songs and scripts from the sadly missed comedienne, many never before released. Wonderful observant humour.

[EW · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mucho bueno

[Joe Brewer-Lennon · Rating 5 out of 5]

A little more Victoria is never enough. Sheer bliss!

[Francesca Pashby]

Whilst there is nothing earth shattering in this volume, let it be said that I will admire Victoria Wood until the day I die.

[Mark Gee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved reading this book i could hear Victoria's voice in my head as I read along.
Made me laugh in parts too.

[Stephanie Mills · Rating 4 out of 5]

I couldn’t put it down

I was laughing a lot at her sketches and songs
The writer is correct you can just hear her throughout reading her work.

[Claire · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was a little disappointed by this. I enjoyed reading Ronnie Barker's collection of scripts and thought I'd feel the same about this but it fell a bit flat for me. I think because I haven't seen a lot of the shows mentioned in the book. I mostly know Victoria Wood from dinner ladies which I love so some of these sketches didn't always feel as sort of special to me as others.