Lytton's Diary (1985–1986)

Creators:

Peter Bowles, Philip Broadley

Stars:

Peter Bowles, Holly De Jong, Adam Norton

Cast

Series cast summary:
Peter Bowles	...	Neville Lytton (12 episodes, 1985-1986)
Holly De Jong	...	Dolly (12 episodes, 1985-1986)
Adam Norton	...	David Edding (12 episodes, 1985-1986)
Harriet Keevil	...	Jenny (12 episodes, 1985-1986)
Bernard Lloyd	...	Henry Field (11 episodes, 1985-1986)
Lewis Fiander	...	The Lawyer (10 episodes, 1985-1986)
Bernard Archard	...	Ian The Editor (9 episodes, 1985-1986)
Anna Nygh	...	Laura Grey (6 episodes, 1985)
Jeffrey Segal	...	Harold (6 episodes, 1986)
Sylvester Williams	...	Wesley (6 episodes, 1985)
Colin Farrell	...	The Deputy Editor (6 episodes, 1986)
Fiona Mollison	...	Catherine Lytton (6 episodes, 1985-1986)
Eve Pearce	...	Beryl (6 episodes, 1985)
David Ryall	...	Norman (6 episodes, 1985)
Barbara Kellerman	...	Helena (5 episodes, 1986)
Antony Hayden	...	Kevin (5 episodes, 1986)
Jane Laurie	...	Pandora (5 episodes, 1985)

Storyline

---

Plot Keywords:

gossip columnist | socialite | newspaper

---

Genres:

Drama

---

Details

Country:

UK

Release Date:

9 January 1985 (UK)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Thames Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min 60 min (13 episodes)

Did You Know?

Trivia

Rick Wakeman was offered the chance to write the theme tune either for this series or for The Bill. He chose this one, believing that it had the best potential of the two to be a long running series. It ran for two seasons, while "The Bill" continues to run.

---

Connections

Follows Storyboard: Lytton's Diary (1983)

User Reviews

good, entertaining quality drama

It doesn't sound particularly exciting or uplkifting to follow the adventures of a gossip columnist although at the time the press wasn't quite as much in the gutter as it is now. But surprisingly Lytton's Diary was one of my favourite shows back in the 80s shown only on regional German TV. The standard of writing is pretty high, the stories are well written, sometimes touching on controversial issiues and the characters are rather interestinbg. Lytton's Diary shows Fleet Street when it still was in Fleet Street although Murdoch was already on the scene. So in a way, today it actually makes you feel rather nostalgic. The show's greatest asset is leading man Peter Bowles here at his suave best. All in all: good, entertaining quality drama although it actually looks pretty dated today in terms of the very harsh contrasts and the cheap studio look.