Editing Felicity Kendal (section)

==''The Good Life''==
{{main|The Good Life (1975 TV series)|l1=The Good Life}}
Kendal had her big break on television with the [[BBC]] sitcom ''The Good Life'' which started in 1975.<ref>{{cite news |first=Jan |last=Moir |author-link=Jan Moir |title='I've had more love than most' |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |date=29 April 1996 |page=15|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-telegraph-ive-had-more-love-t/145845791/ |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref name="BFIGL"/> She and [[Richard Briers]] starred as Barbara and Tom Good, a middle-class suburban couple who decide to quit the [[rat race]] and become self-sufficient, much to the consternation of their snooty but well-meaning neighbour Margo ([[Penelope Keith]]) and her down-to-earth husband Jerry Leadbetter ([[Paul Eddington]]).{{sfn|Webber|2001|p=14}}<ref name="BFIGL">{{cite web |first=Mark |last=Duguid |title=Good Life, The (1975–77) |url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/579110/index.html |website=BFI ScreenOnline |access-date=14 April 2024 |archive-date=23 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231223090320/http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/579110/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Kendal appeared in all 30 episodes, which extended over four series and two specials, until 1977.{{sfn|Webber|2001|p=214}}<ref name="BFIGL"/> BBC Head of Comedy [[James Gilbert (producer)|Jimmy Gilbert]], who had commissioned ''The Good Life'' as a showcase for Briers,{{sfn|Webber|2001|p=2}} saw Kendal and Keith perform in the play ''[[The Norman Conquests]]'' and felt they would suit the roles of Barbara and Margo.{{sfn|Webber|2001|p=14}} Briers approached Kendal in her dressing room and suggested that she read for the part.{{sfn|Koseluk|2000|p=222}} Kendal later recounted that she was keen to get the part, both because she needed work and because she felt a rapport with Briers, who was already established, having appeared regularly in television shows since 1962.{{sfn|Koseluk|2000|p=221-222}} The show's producer [[John Howard Davies]] also went to see the play, and Kendal and Keith were both given parts.{{sfn|Koseluk|2000|p=222}} Eddington also had stage acting experience, and the show's co-writer [[Bob Larbey]] felt that having a cast of actors, rather than a comedian as a central figure, made writing episodes easier.{{sfn|Koseluk|2000|p=221-222}} In her 1988 book ''White Cargo'', Kendal reflected that the lead actors' stage experience and their attitude "to be actors first and stars second" was an important factor in the show's success.{{sfn|Kendal|1998|p=292}} She commented that from the beginning, "we slotted into a way of working together that was fun, fast and furious{{nbsp}}... all extremely professional, ambitious and hard-working, and our dedication to the show was total."{{sfn|Koseluk|2000|p=223}} She also felt that Larbey and his co-writer [[Esmonde and Larbey|John Esmonde]] tailored the scripts so that they were for the "actors and characters combined".{{sfn|Koseluk|2000|p=224}}

Although Barbara has her doubts about Tom's plans for self-sufficiency at first, she supports him emotionally and practically.{{sfn|Webber|2001|p=106}}{{sfn|Lewisohn|2003|p=325}} The cultural historian [[Mark Lewisohn]] commented that it was obvious that Barbara and Tom "enjoy a great marriage, being fully attuned to one another's needs and desires".{{sfn|Lewisohn|2003|p=325}} The [[British Film Institute]]'s page about Kendal, written by Tise Vahimagi, argues that the four lead characters were relatable, "with Kendal standing out as the epitome of friendly suburban sexiness in her tight blue jeans".<ref name="BFIS"/> On the Institute's page about ''The Good Life'', Mark Duguid wrote that "Felicity Kendal's lively, sexy Barbara won her the adoration of millions of British men" in a very popular show that was a "gentle social satire of the suburban middle-class".<ref name="BFIGL"/> For Pickering, Kendal's "whimsical, puckish charm and endearingly good-humoured outlook made her ideal for the role".{{sfn|Pickering|1997|p=876}}

After a low-key start, the programme quickly became popular, attracting audiences of about 14 million for new episodes.{{sfn|Koseluk|2000|p=223}}{{sfn|Bonner|Jacobs|2017}} By the last episode, Esmonde and Larbey felt that the main storylines had come to a natural end, and decided not to write further episodes.{{sfn|Koseluk|2000|p=223}} The last regular episode aired in May 1977 and was followed by a 1977 Christmas special.{{sfn|Koseluk|2000|p=250-251}} The cast reunited for a 1978 [[Royal Command Performance]].{{sfn|Koseluk|2000|p=223}} It has often received repeated showings on the BBC, typically at prime viewing times, and the repeats typically attracted high audiences.{{sfn|Lewisohn|2003|p=326}}

The film and television studies scholars Frances Bonner and Jason Jacobs contended that although ''The Good Life'' was consistently a reference point across the coverage later careers of each of the lead actors, this was most pronounced in the case of Kendal.{{sfn|Bonner|Jacobs|2017}} Kendal has maintained that the character of Barbara Good is very dissimilar to her as a person.{{sfn|Bonner|Jacobs|2017}} In a 2010 interview, she said of her close association with the character that "[''The Good Life''] is always on some channel or another. I think it's rather nice. It's following me like a good fairy."<ref name="HARRIES">{{cite news |first=Rhiannon |last=Harries |title=Felicity Kendal: 'Barbara follows me around like a good fairy' |date=7 March 2010 |newspaper=The Independent |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/felicity-kendal-barbara-follows-me-around-like-a-good-fairy-1917439.html |access-date=19 April 2024 |archive-date=11 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011072650/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/felicity-kendal-barbara-follows-me-around-like-a-good-fairy-1917439.html |url-status=live }}</ref> She added that while the other lead characters were like people that the viewers might know personally, Barbara "had all the ingredients – feisty, strong but adoring, up for anything, very funny – that people find attractive".<ref name="HARRIES"/>