# Executive Stress

Executive Stress is a British sitcom that aired on ITV from 1986 to 1988. Produced by Thames Television, it first aired on 20 October 1986. After three series, the last episode aired on 27 December 1988.
Written by George Layton, Executive Stress stars Penelope Keith as Caroline Fairchild, a middle-aged woman who decides to go back to work. Her husband, Donald, is played by Geoffrey Palmer in the first series. Palmer was unable to return for the second series, so Peter Bowles played Donald in the remaining two series. Keith and Bowles had previously appeared together in the BBC comedy series To the Manor Born.

## Production

The programme was set in the world of publishing as it was one of the few industries of the era dominated by women, meaning Donald and Caroline could realistically be on an equal footing at work. Producer John Howard Davies commissioned a second series before the first series had even aired.
The opening theme, "Why We Fell in Love", was performed by Julie Covington. The lyrics were written by Tim Rice with the music composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber.

## Cast

* Penelope Keith as Caroline Fairchild (née Fielding)
* Geoffrey Palmer as Donald Fairchild (series 1)
* Peter Bowles as Donald Fairchild (series 2 and 3)
* Harry Ditson as Edgar Frankland Jr
* Elizabeth Counsell as Anthea Duxbury
* Mark Caven as Anthony
* Hilary Gish as Nicky
* Richard Marner as Herman Ginsberg (series 1)
* Timothy Carlton as Peter Stuart (series 1)
* Elspeth March as Patricia Fairchild, Donald Fairchild’s mother (series 2)
* David Neville as Peter Stuart (series 2)
* Lorraine Doyle as Jackie (series 1 and 2)
* Ben Robertson as Stephen Cass (series 1 and 2)
* Wanda Ventham as Sylvia (series 2)
* Donald Pickering as Gordon (series 2)
* Vincent Brimble as Tim Jackson (series 3)
* Geoffrey Whitehead as Peter Davenport (series 3)
* Eve Karpf as German Operator (series 3)

## Plot

After 25 years of marriage, mother-of-five Caroline Fairchild decides to go back to work. Her husband Donald would like her to work part-time in their home town of Amersham in Buckinghamshire. Instead she gets a job in London as an Editorial Director for a company called Oasis Publishing. At the company she is reunited with her former secretary, Anthea Duxbury, who is a sales export director.
Oasis Publishing is owned by the American Frankland Corporation, which is run by Edgar Frankland, Jr., the son of the corporation's boss. On Caroline's first day at work, The Frankland Corporation takes over Ginsberg Publishing, the company that Donald works for. Donald is moved to Oasis, and Caroline and he find themselves working together. However, an unwritten rule at Frankland states that married couples cannot work together, so they have to pretend not to know each other, so Caroline uses her maiden name of Fielding. In Series Two, Edgar finds out they are married, but does not sack them and makes them joint managing directors of Oasis.

## Episodes

Three series of Executive Stress were broadcast from 1986 to 1988. The first series, made of seven episodes, aired on Mondays at 20:00 following Coronation Street, as did the six-episode second series. The third series, also of six episodes, aired on Tuesdays at 20.30 following The Bill.
| Series | Episodes | Year |
| 1 | 7 | 1986 |
| 2 | 6 | 1987 |
| 3 | 6 | 1988 |

### Series 1: 1986

| # | Title | Original Airdate |
| 1 | "Episode One" | 20 October 1986 (1986-10-20) |
| 2 | "Episode Two" | 27 October 1986 (1986-10-27) |
| 3 | "Episode Three" | 3 November 1986 (1986-11-03) |
| 4 | "Episode Four" | 10 November 1986 (1986-11-10) |
| 5 | "Episode Five" | 17 November 1986 (1986-11-17) |
| 6 | "Episode Six" | 24 November 1986 (1986-11-24) |
| 7 | "Episode Seven" | 1 December 1986 (1986-12-01) |

### Series 2: 1987

| # | Title | Original Airdate |
| 1 | "Episode One" | 21 September 1987 (1987-09-21) |
| 2 | "Episode Two" | 28 September 1987 (1987-09-28) |
| 3 | "Episode Three" | 5 October 1987 (1987-10-05) |
| 4 | "Episode Four" | 12 October 1987 (1987-10-12) |
| 5 | "Episode Five" | 19 October 1987 (1987-10-19) |
| 6 | "Episode Six" | 26 October 1987 (1987-10-26) |

### Series 3: 1988

| # | Title | Original Airdate |
| 1 | "Episode One" | 22 November 1988 (1988-11-22) |
| 2 | "Episode Two" | 29 November 1988 (1988-11-29) |
| 3 | "Episode Three" | 6 December 1988 (1988-12-06) |
| 4 | "Episode Four" | 13 December 1988 (1988-12-13) |
| 5 | "Episode Five" | 20 December 1988 (1988-12-20) |
| 6 | "Episode Six" | 27 December 1988 (1988-12-27) |

## Broadcast around the world

In the United States, many PBS member stations aired at least the first series in the 1980s and 1990s.
The series was broadcast in Australia around the time it was made with reruns of the series also airing in 2009 on ABC Television.

## DVD release

The complete first and second series were released on 26 April 2010 and 24 January 2011, by Network, The third (and final) series was finally released on 20 May 2013, followed by a complete series set (consisting all three series) on 13 August 2018.
| DVD | Release date |
| The Complete Series 1 | 26 April 2010 |
| The Complete Series 2 | 24 January 2011 |
| The Complete Series 3 | 20 May 2013 |
| The Complete Series 1 to 3 Box Set | 13 August 2018 |