The Rag Trade: Story, Cast and Series Facts

Story and premise

The Rag Trade was a British television sitcom broadcast by the BBC between 1961 and 1963 and by LWT between 1977 and 1978.

The action centred on a small clothing workshop (the title refers to the textile industry), Fenner's Fashions in London. Although run by Harold Fenner (Peter Jones) and Reg Turner the foreman and pattern cutter (Reg Varney), the female workers are led by militant shop steward Paddy Fleming (Miriam Karlin), ever ready to strike, with the catchphrase "Everybody out!" Other cast members included Sheila Hancock (as Carole Taylor), Esma Cannon (as Lily Swann), Wanda Ventham (as Shirley) in series 2 and Barbara Windsor (as Gloria) in series 1 and (as Judy) in series 3 replacing Sheila Hancock.

The Rag Trade was revived by ITV company LWT in 1977, with Jones and Karlin reprising their roles. The 1977 version ran for two series, most of the scripts being based on the BBC episodes from the 1960s, and featured Anna Karen (reprising her role as Olive from On the Buses) and future EastEnders star Gillian Taylforth as factory workers.

Series details

• Title: The Rag Trade
• Format: Scripted
• Language: English
• Genres: Comedy
• Premiere date: 1961-10-06
• Final broadcast date listed: 1978-10-20
• Status in TVmaze: Ended
• Network listed by TVmaze: ITV1
• Network country: United Kingdom
• Typical episode runtime: 30 minutes
• TVMaze ID: 10861
• IMDb ID: tt0121013
• TVDB ID: 143951

Cast and credited roles

• Gillian Taylforth — Lyn
• Barbara Windsor — Judy
• Barbara Windsor — Gloria
• Miriam Karlin — Paddy
• Christopher Beeny — Tony
• Diane Langton — Kathy
• Peter Jones — Mr. Fenner
• Deddie Davies — Mabel
• Anna Karen — Olive Rudge
• Lucita Lijertwood — Jojo
• Sheila Hancock — Carole Taylor
• Reg Varney — Reg Turner

Seasons in the TVmaze catalogue

• Season 1: premiered 1961-10-06; final listed air date 1961-12-08; episode order: 10.
• Season 2: premiered 1962-04-06; final listed air date 1962-06-29; episode order: 13.
• Season 3: premiered 1963-01-05; final listed air date 1963-03-30; episode order: 13.
• Season 4: premiered 1977-09-11; final listed air date 1977-12-24; episode order: 14.
• Season 5: premiered 1978-09-08; final listed air date 1978-10-20; episode order: 7.

Source and licence

Adapted from The Rag Trade on TVmaze. The synopsis is reproduced as plain text; catalogue facts, cast and season records are selected and reformatted. This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, following the TVmaze API licence. Network and web-channel credits identify the service listed in this source; they do not establish current streaming availability.