The suburban soap opera Waggoners' Walk began on Radio 2 on 28 April 1969. It was set in Belsize Park, London and made in contrast to the perceived cosiness of The Dales, which it replaced. The soap was devised by Jill Hyem and Alan Downer. They had a difficult start, with storylines of Swinging London and the hunt for a stolen painting proving unpopular. With a little adjustment and more focus on genuine human problems, Waggoners' Walk soon gained a sizable following.
In episode one listeners met the inhabitants of 1 Waggoners’ Walk. Three young women lived on the top floor, Lynn Dixon (Judy Franklin)and her sister Tracey (Rosalind Adams), plus Barbara Watling (Heather Stoney) from Yorkshire. Art student Rusty (Nicholas Edmett) lived with his grandparents Oliver and Sybil Vaughan (George Hagan and Mary Hignett).Londoners Stan and Alice Hickey(Leslie and Hazel Coppen) lived downstairs. Once the changes to the soap were introduced, with the younger Mike and Claire Nash (Edward Cast and Ellen McIntosh) replacing the Vaughans, Waggoners' Walk really hit its stride.
Waggoners' Walk came to an end in 1980 - the victim of BBC cuts – although it was still popular and its demise much mourned. The final episode solved the mystery of the alien seen on Hampstead Heath - which turned out to have been a monkey - but ended as George Underwood proposed to Sophie Richmond. As Sophie said she needed time to think, George replied "that’'s all right my dear, you have all the time in the world".
April anniversaries
Radiophonic Workshop founded
1 April 1958
The Boat Race first televised
2 April 1927
The Family first episode
3 April 1974
The Good Life
4 April 1975
