Candy Cabs
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Our new comedy-drama Candy Cabs starts tomorrow (9pm on BBC One). To celebrate, writers Johanne McAndrew and Elliot Hope explain the premise behind the writing the show...
When Jane Lush, Executive Producer at Splash Productions (and former BBC Controller) approached us with the idea for a female-only taxi company, we could immediately see the potential for a fun-filled series. Especially when she said the cabs had to be shocking pink - and would probably serve low-cost sparkling wine from a cooler on the back seat and have their own plugged-in hair straighteners. Happy days - chuck a karaoke machine in and you've got every girl's dream!
We wanted to create a show that was feel-good, funny and aspirational, although our ladies are always battling to keep their business afloat and make a living, despite their personal and domestic crises. Basically it would be Auf Wiedersehen Pet for girls.
The key remit was to find that fine balance between pathos and laughs; creating a group of characters an audience will invest in and want to see again and again. Easier said than done - it's by no means an exact science and it doesn't stop with a finished shooting script.
We both feel we've been blessed with a fantastic cast and several pairs of very safe hands throughout the scripting and production process. So hopefully, after all the hard work, there's a little bit of Candy Cabs that everyone can enjoy.
As a comedy writing partnership, we've been working (and living!) together for more than 15 years. Yes, this is madness but there are advantages. You don't have to get dressed (or washed) for work plus you do get to watch loads of daytime telly - all in the name of 'research' of course!
But it's not all about the art of lolling on the couch. Anyone who's ever seen The Shining will know the full horror of being trapped together with nothing more than a family sized bag of mini Twixes and the glow of a blank laptop computer screen to keep you going through the long nights before a deadline looms!
More from Candy Cabs:
- Listen to an interview with the show's writers on Front Row.
- Actress Lisa Millett tells the TV Blog how much she loved the script.
Candy Cabs starts on Tuesday 5 April at 9pm on BBC One.
Comment number 1.
At 14:58 5th Apr 2011, KaseyCoff wrote:Do the writers - or anyone else associated with the show - admit being at least partially inspired by the 'Pink Ladies' taxi company out of Warrington in Cheshire--? Just wondering.
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Comment number 2.
At 17:03 6th Apr 2011, Jon Aird wrote:Hi Kasey, yes, and the founders of Pink Ladies are credited as consultants on the show.
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Comment number 3.
At 22:25 12th Apr 2011, Susan Harrington wrote:Great show, love it! I used to work with Steve Money (gary) when did Steve change his name to Money and why
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Comment number 4.
At 23:14 12th Apr 2011, mellybarber wrote:Hi i love this programme its very girly, jo joyner is such a beaut, could you also tell me where whitneys dress is from its like white or cream with bright bits on i loved it she is sat and the computer and asks her dad to come home thanks
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Comment number 5.
At 16:47 15th Apr 2011, Hollywood1669 wrote:This is a great programme and fun to watch. It is light hearted but true too life, and who ever chose the cast could not have chose better. I do hope there are going to be more of Candy Cabs
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Comment number 6.
At 21:53 19th Apr 2011, johnny scot wrote:interesting but no realtion to the movie carry on cabbie?
Anyone see that?
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Comment number 7.
At 14:17 21st Apr 2011, balaklava1854 wrote:I thought Candy Cabs was great. A breath of fresh air. People shouldn't get hung up on Carry on Cabby and try to see which is better. In my mind they're both great and should be celebrated equally!! It was good to see Jo Joyner in something else, other than Tanya off Eastenders!! Congratulations to the writers for coming up with something original and there wasn't a murder or a bunch of wannabe celebs to be seen, which telly seems to be full of at present!! Hopefully a full length series may happen:) For fans of strong female characters and lots of them, you should watch (if you haven't already) Suburban Shootout, it was on telly a couple of years ago on another channel, but well worth watching!:)
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Comment number 8.
At 18:11 22nd Apr 2011, Jo_Fox wrote:I think this show was brilliant and hope they bring out a full series, as it would be good to watch some more light hearted humour. Anybody know the name of the actress who played the brides mum in episode 2, as I'm trying to remember without success.
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Comment number 9.
At 06:42 26th Apr 2011, katery wrote:This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.
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Comment number 10.
At 22:42 26th Apr 2011, ljdonnelly wrote:Just started to catch up with the show on iplayer, got part way through epispode 2 and am now unable to continue as it is no longer available.....gutted! Any suggestions?
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Comment number 11.
At 00:04 27th Apr 2011, susiespearish wrote:What has happened !! I thought this was going to be a long series reading the writers blog on here.Loved every minute of it as did my hubby .Bring the girls back !
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Comment number 12.
At 08:31 28th Apr 2011, boochapman wrote:brilliant telly from the bbc - when is the full length series going to be shown? soon i hope
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