Robin and Wendy's Wet Weekends is a BBC Radio 4 comedy series written by and starring Kay Stonham and Simon Greenall, which ran from 2001 to 2005. It revolves around the mundane lives of Robin and Wendy Mayfield who live on an anonymous estate in Stevenage. Robin tends to be self-centred, demanding and controlling in his relationships. Wendy, however, always seems to see the positive side of any situation, and, while often frustrated, copes with Robin admirably. Both Robin and Wendy have relatively meaningless bureaucratic jobs. Robin manages shipping and receiving for a warehouse, and Wendy works in local government.
To their disappointment (mainly Wendy's), they find themselves unable to have children. Consequently, their considerable energies are channeled into building and maintaining Mayfield, the model village in their garage. Robin drives a decrepit Triumph Herald, claiming it to be a "classic British car". Wendy becomes pregnant in the penultimate episode of Series 3, due to an affair with a patient at the hospital where Robin lies in a coma after an accident at work. The arrival of the baby is a major element in Series 4.
Their next-door neighbours Derek and Maureen also have no children, although Derek has children from a previous marriage. Before suffering burnout and a breakdown, Derek was a legend among salesmen. Now he is usually undergoing treatment with one or more drugs to address his psychological problems, which often trigger erratic behavior when he takes too much or too little. Maureen tends to be involved in the latest get-rich-quick scheme, although none of them turn out to be too successful. To make matters worse, she dumped her previous husband for Derek, and openly regrets having done so.
Each episode focuses on one particular event or activity and details the usually absurd outcome brought about by the group. The humour is gentle, yet the storylines encourage sympathy for the characters.
The first series was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2001. Four series, a total of 18 episodes, have been broadcast up to the end of 2005. Early episodes were co-written by Kay Stonham, who also plays Wendy, and Simon Greenall who played Robin. In the third and fourth series Robin was played by Brian Capron and Kay Stonham was the sole credited writer.
The show is repeated from time to time on BBC Radio 4 Extra and occasionally on Radio 4.
Read more about Robin And Wendy's Wet Weekends: Critical Reaction, Episode List
Famous quotes containing the words robin, wet and/or weekends:
“‘Lay me a green sod under my head,
And another at my feet;
And lay my bent bow at my side,
Which was my music sweet;
And make my grave of gravel and green,
Which is most right and meet.”
—Unknown. Robin Hood’s Death (l. 65–70)
“Gabriel will come from the water
With a fish-tail, and talk
Of wonders that have happened
On wet roads where men walk....”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)
“Finishing schools in the fifties were a good place to store girls for a few years before marrying them off, a satisfactory rest stop between college weekends spent husband hunting. It was a haven for those of us adept at styling each other’s hair, playing canasta, and chain smoking Pall Mall extra-long cigarettes.”
—Barbara Howar (b. 1934)