Educating Marmalade

[Virgo76]

This came up a bit in the Game On thread as Andrew Davies wrote both.
I only very dimly remember it myself
It was a kids' show from the early 80s about (basically) a naughty girl called Marmalade Atkins. I expect it looks very dated now. I think she used to address the audience by going "hello cock" or "wotcha cock!" (or something)
Was it any good?
A comedy, so belongs in this section I think.
Like most Andrew Davies things it was adapted from a book (or books). Any idea how faithful it was?
I think there may have been other Marmalade series too.
I seem to remember the theme music was a bit weird and perhaps punky sounding. "The worst mistake I ever made was educating Marmalade..."
I know Charlotte Coleman was the star (later in Four Weddings and a Funeral and the sitcom, How Do You Want Me? before tragically dying in her early thirties). Was anyone else famous in it?
I also remember reading a book called Conrad's War by Andrew Davies as a child. Tanks in it? Can't remember much else. Think I liked it. Loved Badger Girl, the Schools drama he wrote too. He's of course written tons of 'grown up' stuff since. He is now 85.
Is there anything in Marmalade which foreshadowed things he would write later? e.g. A Very Peculiar Practice, House of Cards etc

[RFT]

It was one of my favourite shows as a young kid and I had a couple of the books - I remeber using book tokens I got for my birthday to buy one of them. Educating Marmalade was the second series/book if I recall.

I *think* the show was fairly faithful to the books but we're pre-dating my house having a VCR so this is all based on my memory of my memory - it's second-hand even to myself.

[Lisa Jesusandmarychain]

The theme tune was by Bad Manners and began # bad girl warning#
Quite a few famous folk in the cast, and think they were all mentioned in the " Game On" thread: John Bird ( as Marmalade's dad) *and* John Fortune, Una Stubbs ( as a French Teacher who keeps bursting into song), Brian Glover and Dudley Sutton ( as nuns in the rough-as-fuck boarding school run by nuns), Lynda La Plante ( in her final acting role as Marmalade's near permanently pissed- up mum), probs quite a few others.
The foreshadowing of Davies' " A Very Peculiar Practice" was nuns not behaving like nuns, and a certain element of surrealism. In fact, " Educating Marmalade" was pretty anarchic considering it was a children's programme, a proud addition to the roster of downright zany and pushing things a bit considering these were shows for children progs what ITV seemed to specialise in; see also " Your Mother Wouldn't Like It", the spin- off from that show " Palace Hill" ( which actually got quite mental at the time; me and my mate were both in our early twenties but were avid viewers of this show, we used to record it on them video recorders we had in those days, due to us both being at work at the time it was being broadcast), the C P Lee from Albertos Y Lost Trios Paranoias-scripted " Teach Yourself Gibberish" and, but of course, the famed "Oink" comic influenced " Round The Bend".
I also watched " Educating Marmalade" upon original broadcast. 2815 years old I was, which wasn't really too old for the brand of humour going up there onscreen. Plus I was just about in the right demographic for having a crush on the vaguely Ian McCulloch resembling Charlotte Coleman ( God rest her soul) as Marmalade Atkins, which I duly did.
I'd happily watch the entire series again, given half a chance. There's a condensed " greatest hits" type collage of the best scenes from the show up on YouTube.
HTH.

[Glebe]

"Wotcher, cock!"

Very sad about Charlotte Colman dying so young. I think there was a Marmalade comic strip in Look-in magazine (alongside ones about Adam Ant solving a mystery and taking everyone along to see E.T. as a smashing special treat or whatever).

[Better Midlands]

I remember enjoying it as a kid, was something I watched with my mum.

Looking at the cast as well as the people mentioned above it also featured Brian Glover, John Fortune, Julia Sawhala, Joan Sims, Max Wall, Lynda Bellingham and Kathy Burke.

The Marmalade At Work cast included John Sessions, Jim Carter, Windsor Davis, Arthur English, Stratford Johns, Trevor Peacock and Danny John Jules.

[kalowski]

Like many CaBbers of a certain vintage I also watched this with an emerging fascination with Charlotte Coleman. She was about three years older than me. I remember enjoying the show a lot.

[kalowski]

PS Just reading about her death made me quite sad.

[dissolute ocelot]

Here's Rod Hull introducing an episode with a pre-credit sequence and titles/theme.

There seems to be all of Marmalade At Work on Youtube (some wrongly titled Educating Marmalade) but only clips of the original series. Playlist here. Maybe someone with better video-finding skills can do better. I never watched ITV as a child.

[LORD BAD VIBE]

Network released both series on DVD but they're OOP now.

Might be some 2nd hand copies floating around on Amazon, eBay and the likes.

[Glebe]

The Young Ones for younger viewers!

[mippy]

For some reason, our town library in the early 90s had a lot of novelisations of long-gone media properties - the original Grange Hill novels, Gregory's Girl, Lizzie Dripping and Marmalade Atkins. I really liked the MA books, although the only plot I can remember now is when Record Breakers came to her school and everyone sang 'Record breaker! World shaker!' which I don't think were the lyrics. I didn't even know it was ever a TV show until a few years ago.

Whenever I mentioned it to people they thought I meant Marmaloid from Pugwall.

[jamiefairlie]

The theme tune was by Bad Manners and began # bad girl warning#
Quite a few famous folk in the cast, and think they were all mentioned in the " Game On" thread: John Bird ( as Marmalade's dad) *and* John Fortune, Una Stubbs ( as a French Teacher who keeps bursting into song), Brian Glover and Dudley Sutton ( as nuns in the rough-as-fuck boarding school run by nuns), Lynda La Plante ( in her final acting role as Marmalade's near permanently pissed- up mum), probs quite a few others.
The foreshadowing of Davies' " A Very Peculiar Practice" was nuns not behaving like nuns, and a certain element of surrealism. In fact, " Educating Marmalade" was pretty anarchic considering it was a children's programme, a proud addition to the roster of downright zany and pushing things a bit considering these were shows for children progs what ITV seemed to specialise in; see also " Your Mother Wouldn't Like It", the spin- off from that show " Palace Hill" ( which actually got quite mental at the time; me and my mate were both in our early twenties but were avid viewers of this show, we used to record it on them video recorders we had in those days, due to us both being at work at the time it was being broadcast), the C P Lee from Albertos Y Lost Trios Paranoias-scripted " Teach Yourself Gibberish" and, but of course, the famed "Oink" comic influenced " Round The Bend".
I also watched " Educating Marmalade" upon original broadcast. 2815 years old I was, which wasn't really too old for the brand of humour going up there onscreen. Plus I was just about in the right demographic for having a crush on the vaguely Ian McCulloch resembling Charlotte Coleman ( God rest her soul) as Marmalade Atkins, which I duly did.
I'd happily watch the entire series again, given half a chance. There's a condensed " greatest hits" type collage of the best scenes from the show up on YouTube.
HTH.

Yes to all of this!

[jamiefairlie]

She also starred in the P'twee version of Worzel Gummidge.

[Rizla]

I remember it very well - John Bird will always be Marmalade's dad to me. I have it in the same mindbracket as "Seaview" starring pre-Blue Peter Yvette Fielding, perhaps because she also caused "feelings".

[Gurke and Hare]

I have it in the same mindbracket as "Seaview" starring pre-Blue Peter Yvette Fielding, perhaps because she also caused "feelings".

Also starring David Gooderson, who was my history teacher's brother.

I also enjoyed Marmalade Atkins. That's a great name for a character, isn't it? Tells you everything you need to know.

[Replies From View]

Educating Rita, except with the dog from Heathcliff and Marmaduke.

[Glebe]

She also starred in the P'twee version of Worzel Gummidge.

Yes! Forgot about that. Her dad was Mike Berry.

[Alternative Carpark]

She also starred in the P'twee version of Worzel Gummidge.

As did Una Stubbs of course, who was also in this as a French teacher, according to LJ above.

One of the books was 'Marmalade Atkins in Space', which had a cover photo of her in a spaceship cabin with a couple of astronauts.

Charlotte Coleman, in character as Marmalade Atkins, also had a stint as the Children's ITV presenter during April 1983.

[MojoJojo]

One of the books was 'Marmalade Atkins in Space', which had a cover photo of her in a spaceship cabin with a couple of astronauts.

I don't remember this but wiki said the first TV appearance was in a one off "Marmalade Atkins in Space" adaption.

[Replies From View]

Pugwall's Summer and the Education of Marmaloid

[Virgo76]

Charlotte Coleman, in character as Marmalade Atkins, also had a stint as the Children's ITV presenter during April 1983.

Children's ITV was crazy back then.
Charlotte Coleman was also in the slightly rude 1990s TV Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit.
I didn't recognise her at all from Marmalade then. I didn't recognise her again when she was in Four Weddings and a Funeral.