Stella (British TV series)
Stella is a British comedy-drama which aired on Sky One between 2012 and 2017. It was created and written by David Peet and Ruth Jones, who played the lead role of Stella Morris (later Jackson). Jones appeared alongside a cast ensemble which included Patrick Baladi.
| Stella | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Comedy-drama |
| Created by | Ruth Jones David Peet |
| Written by | Ruth Jones Ben Edwards Simon Ludders Rob Evans Steve Speirs David Peet |
| Directed by | Sandy Johnson Sue Tully Juliet May Tony Dow Mandie Fletcher Sarah O'Gorman Simon Massey Ashley Way Simon Delaney |
| Starring | Ruth Jones Patrick Baladi Elizabeth Berrington Mark Lewis Jones Kenny Doughty Owen Teale Craig Gallivan Bethan Witcomb Catrin Stewart Justin Davies Di Botcher |
| Opening theme | "And Then She Smiles" by the Mock Turtles |
| Composers | Mark Thomas Simon H Jones Nick Lloyd |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 6 (+ 2 Christmas specials) |
| No. of episodes | 58 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Ruth Jones Barry Lynch Lucy Lumsden Jon Mountague David Peet Tilusha Ghelani |
| Producers | David Peet Jane Dauncey Josh Dynevor Spencer Campbell |
| Editors | Sara Jones Peter Hallworth John Richards |
| Running time | 60 minutes (inc. adverts) 90 minutes (inc. adverts) (2014 special & 2016 special) 70 minutes (inc. adverts) (Series finale) |
| Production company | Tidy Productions |
| Release | |
| Original network | Sky One |
| Picture format | 16:9 (1080i HDTV) |
| Original release | 6 January 2012 – 18 October 2017 |
The sixth and final series premiered on 13 September 2017 and concluded with a 70-minute finale on 18 October 2017.
Various celebrities made guest cameos as themselves, with former Welsh rugby union international Scott Quinnell making several appearances.
Synopsis
Stella Morris is a struggling mother of three living in the Welsh town of Pontyberry, earning a living doing the washing and ironing for the locals.
Her eldest, Luke, is serving an 18-month prison term for car theft; daughter, Emma, completely besotted with boyfriend, Sunil, wants to leave school before doing her exams; and youngest, Ben, is working on his family tree, which will bring back a familiar face from Stella’s past and send shockwaves through the valley.
Also along for the bumpy ride are Stella’s best friend, Paula, a functioning alcoholic funeral director and married to Stella’s older brother, Dai, an ex-serviceman injured on duty; Stella’s dim, but well meaning ex-husband, Karl, who is now with the 28-year-old Nadine; and lollipop man and youth rugby coach, Alan, an old school friend of Stella’s who has been in love with her since 1984.
Episodes
| Series | Episodes | Originally aired | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | ||||
| 1 | 10 | 6 January 2012 | 9 March 2012 | ||
| 2 | 10 | 11 January 2013 | 8 March 2013 | ||
| 3 | 10 | 24 January 2014 | 28 March 2014 | ||
| Special (2014) | 22 December 2014 | ||||
| 4 | 10 | 6 February 2015 | 10 April 2015 | ||
| 5 | 10 | 12 January 2016 | 15 March 2016 | ||
| Special (2016) | 23 December 2016 | ||||
| 6 | 6 | 13 September 2017 | 18 October 2017 | ||
Cast
Main cast
| Actor/Actress | Character | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Ruth Jones | Stella Morris | 2012-2017 |
| Patrick Baladi | Michael Jackson | 2014-2017 |
| Elizabeth Berrington | Paula Kosh | 2012-2013, 2015, 2016, 2017 |
| Mark Lewis Jones | Rob Morgan | 2012-2013, 2015, 2016, 2017 |
| Kenny Doughty | Sean McGaskill | 2012-2013 |
| Owen Teale | Dai Kosh | 2012-2013 |
| Craig Gallivan | Luke Morris | 2012–2017 |
| Bethan Witcomb | Zoe Stewart | 2013-2017 |
| Catrin Stewart | Emma Morris | 2012–2014, 2016, 2017 |
| Justin Davies | Ben Morris | 2012–2017 |
| Di Botcher | Aunty Brenda | 2013-2017 |
Supporting cast
| Actor | Character | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Aled Pugh | Bobby Gittins | 2012-2017 |
| Daniel Gammond | Little Alan | 2012-2017 |
| Karen Paullada | Nadine Bevan | 2012-2017 |
| Maxine Evans | Rhian Evans | 2012-2017 |
| Russell Gomer | Yanto Bead | 2012-2017 |
| Pal Aron | Jagadeesh Choudary | 2012-2014, 2016-2017 |
| Clare Hingott | Cheryl Spragg | 2014-2017 |
| Remy Beasley | Beyonce Evans | 2015-2017 |
| Piers Ahia | Billy Matthews | 2014, 2017 |
| Michael Elwyn | Ken Kosh | 2012, 2017 |
| Olwen Rees | Olwen Kosh | 2017 |
| Darren Day | Will Morgan | 2017 |
| Julian Lewis Jones | Karl Morris | 2012-2013, 2014, 2015-2016 |
| Taj Atwal | Jasminder Choudary | 2012-2013, 2016 |
| Grace Fan | Betty Wong | 2014-2016 |
| Emma Rydal | Celia Brackstone | 2014-2016 |
| Martha Mackintosh | Katie Jackson | 2014-2016 |
| Alice Hewkin | Lily | 2015-2016 |
| Leona Vaughan | Cerys Ferris | 2015-2016 |
| Tony Gardner | Ivan Schloss | 2016 |
| Suzanne Packer | Carole | 2016 |
| Leena Dhingra | Nina Choudary | 2016 |
| Daniel Laurie | Jamie | 2016 |
| Clive Russell | Uncle Clem | 2016 |
| Steve Speirs | Alan Williams | 2012-2015 |
| Howell Evans | Daddy Simpson | 2012-2015 |
| Anthony O'Donnell | Dai Davies | 2012-2015 |
| Ramon Tikaram | Jeffrey Honey | 2015 |
| Sudha Bhuchar | Tanisha Choudary | 2012-2014 |
| Rory Girvan | Sunil Choudary | 2012-2013, 2014 |
| Eiry Hughes | Verv / Vivienne | 2014 |
| James Thornton | Marcus Jensen | 2014 |
| Wayne Forester | Barry | 2014 |
| Ian Hughes | Rhys | 2014 |
| Paul Kaye | Peschman Hodd | 2013 |
| Joanna Scanlan | Nancy Crook | 2012 |
Special guests
Many celebrities appeared in the series as themselves:
- Ashley Banjo
- Joe Calzaghe
- Colin Charvis
- Keith Chegwin
- Rylan Clark-Neal
- Nicky Clarke
- Gino D'Acampo
- Andy Fairweather Low
- Warren Gatland
- Russell Grant
- Eamonn Holmes
- Colin Jackson
- Gethin Jones
- Neil Kinnock
- Debbie McGee
- Gillian McKeith
- Only Men Aloud
- Damien O'Kane
- Mike Phillips
- Robert Plant
- Graham Price
- Scott Quinnell
- Tim Rhys-Evans
- Jonathan Ross
- Kate Rusby
- Andrew Stone
- Gareth Thomas
- Shane Williams
DVD releases
| Season | Date released | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| The Complete Series 1 | 12 March 2012[1] | |
| The Complete Series 2 | 18 March 2013[2] | |
| The Complete Series 1-2 | 18 March 2013 | |
| The Complete Series 3 | 31 March 2014[3] | |
| The Complete Series 1-3 | 31 March 2014 | |
| The Complete Series 4 | 20 April 2015 | Includes 2014 Christmas special |
| The Complete Series 5 | 21 March 2016 | |
| The Complete Series 1-5 | 21 March 2016 | |
| The Complete Series 6 | 6 November 2017 | Including 2016 Christmas special |
| The Complete Collection | 6 November 2017 |
Filming
The series was largely filmed in Ferndale in the Rhondda Valley in Wales.[4]