Editing Victoria Wood

{{Short description|British comedian (1953–2016)}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2016}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Victoria Wood<br />{{postnominals|country=GBR|CBE}}
| image              = Victoria Wood.jpg
| caption            = Wood in 2012
| birth_date         = {{Birth date|df=yes|1953|5|19}}
| death_date         = {{death date and age|df=yes|2016|04|20|1953|05|19}}
| birth_place        = [[Prestwich]], [[Lancashire]],<!--Prestwich was in Lancashire when she was born--> England
| death_place        = [[Highgate]], [[London]], England
| occupation         = {{hlist|Comedian|actress|musician|screenwriter|director}}
| alma_mater         = [[University of Birmingham]]
| style              = {{Plainlist|
* [[Stand-up comedy|Stand-up]]
* [[Observational humour]]
}}
| years_active       = 1974–2016
| notable_works      = {{Plainlist|
* ''[[Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV]]''
* ''[[Victoria Wood (1989 TV series)|Victoria Wood]]''
* ''[[Dinnerladies (TV series)|dinnerladies]]''
* ''[[Housewife, 49]]''
}}
| spouse             = {{marriage|[[Geoffrey Durham]]|1980|2005|end=divorced}}<ref>{{cite news|author=Chrissy Iley |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/theatre/actors/victoria-wood-interview-i-fear-being-my-mother/ |title=Victoria Wood interview: 'I fear being my mother' |newspaper=The Telegraph |date=20 April 2016 |publisher=Telegraph.co.uk |access-date=22 April 2016}}</ref>
| children           = 2
| relatives          = Chris Foote Wood (brother)
| awards             = See [[#Awards and recognition|awards and recognition]]
| module             = {{Listen | embed=yes | filename=Victoria wood bbc radio4 desert island discs 23 12 2007.flac | type=speech | title=Victoria Wood's voice<ref name="BBC-b01s0df2">{{Cite episode|title=Victoria Wood|series=Desert Island Discs|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/features/desert-island-discs/castaway/e3c450b1|access-date=18 January 2014|station=BBC Radio 4|date=23 December 2007}}</ref> | description=during the [[BBC Radio 4]] programme ''[[Desert Island Discs]]'' broadcast 23 December 2007 }}
}}

'''Victoria Wood''' (19 May 1953 – 20 April 2016) was an English comedian, actress, musician, screenwriter, and director. Wood wrote and starred in dozens of sketches, plays, musicals, films and sitcoms over several decades, and her live comedy act was interspersed with her own compositions which she performed at the piano. Much of her humour was grounded in everyday life and included references to activities, attitudes and products that are considered to exemplify Britain. She was noted for her skills in [[observational comedy]] and in [[satire|satirising]] aspects of [[Social class in the United Kingdom|social class]].<ref name="Brandwood">{{cite book |last = Brandwood |first = Neil |title= Victoria Wood&nbsp;– The Biography |edition = 1st |year = 2002 |publisher = Boxtree |location = London |isbn = 1-85227-982-6}}
</ref><ref name="Screenonline">{{cite web |last =Duguid |first =Mark |title =Wood, Victoria (1953–) |publisher =British Film Institute |date =July 2003 |url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/578938/index.html
 |access-date =18 October 2007| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070121183601/http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/578938/index.html
|archive-date = 21 January 2007| url-status = live}}</ref>

Wood started her career in 1974 by appearing on, and winning, the [[Associated Television|ATV]] talent show ''[[New Faces]]''. She established herself as a comedy star in the 1980s, winning a [[British Academy Television Award for Best Entertainment Performance|BAFTA TV Award]] in 1986 for the sketch series ''[[Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV]]'' (1985–87), and became one of Britain's most popular stand-up comics,<ref name="Brandwood" /> winning a second BAFTA for ''[[An Audience with...|An Audience with Victoria Wood]]'' (1988). In the 1990s, she wrote and co-starred in the television film ''[[Pat and Margaret]]'' (1994), and the sitcom ''[[Dinnerladies (TV series)|dinnerladies]]'' (1998–2000), which she also produced.<ref name="thecustard.tv">{{cite web |url=http://www.thecustard.tv/shows/dinnerladies.html |title=The custard.tv guide to... dinnerladies |access-date=2007-09-17 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080410065003/http://www.thecustard.tv/shows/dinnerladies.html |archive-date=10 April 2008}}</ref> She won two more [[BAFTA TV Awards]], including [[British Academy Television Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]], for her 2006 [[ITV1]] television film, ''[[Housewife, 49]]''.<ref name="Brandwood" /><ref name="Screenonline" /> Her frequent long-term collaborators included [[Julie Walters]], [[Celia Imrie]], [[Duncan Preston]], and [[Anne Reid]].<ref name="Brandwood" /> In 2006, Wood came tenth in [[ITV (TV Network)|ITV]]'s poll of the British public's [[TV's 50 Greatest Stars|50 Greatest TV Stars]].

==Early life==
Victoria Wood was the youngest child of Stanley and Ellen "Nellie" Wood (''née'' Mape).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://discoveryourancestors.co.uk/articles/a-comedy-heroine-descended-from-a-ww1-hero-6/|title=Sample Articles Archive – Discover Your Ancestors|website=discoveryourancestors.co.uk|access-date=27 May 2019}}</ref> Stanley worked as an insurance salesman, who also wrote songs for his company's Christmas parties, was the author of the musical play ''Clogs'' (based in a Lancashire village in 1887) and wrote part-time for ''[[Coronation Street]]'' and others.<ref>{{cite news |last=Iley |first=Chrissy |date=12 June 2011 |title=Victoria Wood interview: 'I fear being my mother'|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/theatre/actors/victoria-wood-interview-i-fear-being-my-mother/ |newspaper=The Telegraph |access-date=20 April 2014 }}</ref>  She had three siblings: a brother, Chris, and two sisters, Penny and Rosalind.<ref name="Whetstone">{{cite news|url=http://www.thejournal.co.uk/news/north-east-news/victoria-woods-supermum-4584918|title=Victoria Wood's supermum|last=Whetstone|first=David|date=11 February 2006|work=[[The Journal (Newcastle upon Tyne newspaper)|The Journal]]|access-date=20 April 2016|archive-date=9 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161009115839/http://www.thejournal.co.uk/news/north-east-news/victoria-woods-supermum-4584918|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Wood was born in [[Prestwich]] and brought up in nearby [[Bury, Greater Manchester|Bury]].<ref name="ODNB">{{cite ODNB |doi=10.1093/odnb/9780198614128.013.111692|title=Wood, Victoria (1953–2016) |year=2020 |last1=Gray |first1=Frances}}</ref> She was educated at Fairfield County Primary School<ref>{{cite news |last=Holland |first=Daniel |date=20 April 2016|title=Comedian Victoria Wood dies, aged 62, after cancer battle |url=http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/14440140.Comedian_Victoria_Wood_dies__aged_62__after_cancer_battle/|newspaper=Bolton News|access-date=20 April 2016}}</ref> and [[Bury Grammar School (Girls)|Bury Grammar School for Girls]],<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.manchester2002-uk.com/celebs/broadcasters4.html |title=Manchester Stars & Celebrities of Television & Film |encyclopedia=Papillon Graphics' Virtual Encyclopedia & Guide to Greater Manchester |publisher=manchester2002-uk.com |access-date=22 August 2010 |archive-date=19 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160819164131/http://www.manchester2002-uk.com/celebs/broadcasters4.html |url-status=usurped }}</ref> where she immediately found herself out of her depth.

{{blockquote| I was always top of the class, and when I went to [[grammar school]] I could not deal with everyone being as clever... I went under. I was a mess, a bit of a misfit. I didn't have any friends, let alone try to be funny...I didn't do any work, didn't have clean clothes and didn't wash. If I didn't have any money I'd steal from people, and if I hadn't done my homework I'd steal someone else's. I was envious of all the groups: the horsey group, the girls who went out with boys, the clever ones. Looking back, I feel really sorry for that little girl.<ref>''Desert Island Discs'', Radio 4, 24 December 2007</ref>}}

Wood developed [[eating disorder]]s, but in 1968, her father gave her a piano for her 15th birthday.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2016/04/20/victoria-wood---obituary/|title=Victoria Wood – obituary|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=20 April 2016|access-date=27 May 2019|via=www.telegraph.co.uk}}</ref> She later said of this unhappy time "The good thing about being isolated is you get a good look at what goes on. I was reading, writing and working at the piano all the time. I was doing a lot of other things that helped me to perform."<ref name=manchester>{{cite news|url=https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/how-victoria-became-funny-1015096|title=How Victoria became funny|first=|date=23 December 2007|newspaper=Manchester Evening News|access-date=27 May 2019}}</ref> Later that year, she joined the Rochdale Youth Theatre Workshop, where she felt she was "in the right place and knew what I was doing" and she made an impression with her comic skill and skill in writing.<ref name="manchester"/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2016/04/20/victoria-wood---obituary/|title=Victoria Wood –&nbsp;obituary|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=20 April 2016|access-date=19 May 2017}}</ref> She went on to study in the Department of Drama and Theatre Arts at the [[University of Birmingham]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/68405f22-a1f7-11e0-b485-00144feabdc0.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/68405f22-a1f7-11e0-b485-00144feabdc0.html |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=The Inventory: Victoria Wood|date=2 July 2011|work=[[Financial Times]]|access-date=20 April 2016}}</ref>

==Career==
===1970s===
Wood began her show business career while an undergraduate, appearing on the TV talent show ''[[New Faces]]'' in 1974.<ref name="Whetstone"/> It led to an appearance in a sketch show featuring the series' winners ''[[The Summer Show]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/488970|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071207205154/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/488970|url-status=dead|archive-date=7 December 2007|title=BFI Film & TV Database on The Summer Show|publisher=BFI|date=29 March 2007}}</ref> A further break came as a novelty act on the [[BBC]]'s consumer affairs programme ''[[That's Life!]]'' in 1976. She had met long-term collaborator [[Julie Walters]] in 1971, when Wood applied to the [[Manchester School of Theatre]], then part of [[Manchester Polytechnic]].<ref name = "WD ITV DFM"/> Coincidentally the pair met again when they appeared in the same theatre revue ''[[In at the Death]]'' in 1978 (for which Wood wrote a brief sketch). Its success led to the commissioning of Wood's first play ''[[Talent (play)|Talent]]'' (in 1978), starring Hazel Clyne (in a role originally written for Walters), for which Wood won an award for the Most Promising New Writer. [[Peter Eckersley (TV producer)|Peter Eckersley]], the head of drama at [[ITV Granada|Granada Television]], saw ''Talent'' and invited Wood to create a television adaptation. This time, Julie Walters took the lead role, while Wood reprised her stage role.<ref name="Brandwood" /><ref>{{cite web |last =Duguid |first =Mark |title = Talent (1979) |work = Screenonline.org.uk |publisher =British Film Institute |date =July 2003 |url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/1241050/index.html |access-date = 18 October 2007 }}</ref>

===1980–1988===
The success of the television version of ''Talent'' led to Wood writing the follow-up ''[[Nearly a Happy Ending]]''. Shortly afterwards she wrote a third play for Granada, ''[[Happy Since I Met You]]'', again with Walters alongside [[Duncan Preston]] as the male lead. In 1980 she wrote and starred in the stage play ''[[Good Fun]]''.<ref name="Brandwood" />

Recognising her talent, Eckersley offered Wood a sketch show, although Wood was unsure of the project: she agreed to go ahead only if Walters received equal billing. Eckersley came up with an obvious title – ''[[Wood and Walters]]'',<ref name = "WD ITV DFM">[[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] 50: ''What Did ITV Do For Me?'', interview with Victoria Wood (September 2005).</ref> and the pilot episode was recorded. It led to a full series, featuring Duncan Preston and a supporting cast. In the period between the completion of the pilot and the shooting of the series, Eckersley died. Wood credited him with giving her her first big break, and felt that ''Wood and Walters'' suffered due to his death.<ref name = "WD ITV DFM"/> She was not impressed by Brian Armstrong, his fill-in, and was of the opinion that he hired unsuitable supporting actors.<ref name="Brandwood"/>

Wood appeared alongside 
Peter Llewellyn-Jones as an actor/presenter in [[Yorkshire Television]]'s 1984 schools television programme for hearing-impaired children, ''Insight'' - a remake of the series originally presented by [[Derek Griffiths]]. In 1982 and 1983 she appeared as a panellist on BBC Radio 4's ''[[Just a Minute]]''.

In October 1983 Wood performed her first solo stand-up show, ''Lucky Bag'', in a five-week run at the King's Head Theatre in Islington. The show transferred to the Ambassadors Theatre for a 12-night run in February 1984. ''Lucky Bag'' went on a short UK tour in November and December 1984 and was also released as a live album recorded at the Edinburgh Festival in 1983.<ref name="Brandwood"/>

Wood left Granada in 1984 for the BBC, which promised her more creative control over projects. Later that year her sketch show ''[[Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV]]'' went into production. Wood chose the actors: her friend Julie Walters once again starred, as did Duncan Preston. Wood's friends [[Celia Imrie]], [[Susie Blake]] and [[Patricia Routledge]] were in the cast. ''As Seen on TV'' featured the ''[[Acorn Antiques]]'' series of sketches, parodying the low-budget soap opera ''[[Crossroads (British TV series)|Crossroads]]'', and rumoured to be named after an antiques shop in her birthplace. ''Acorn Antiques'' is remembered for characters such as "Mrs Overall" (played by Walters), the deliberately bad camera angles and wobbling sets, and Celia Imrie's sarcastic tone as "Miss Babs". One of Wood's most popular comic songs,<ref name="Brandwood" /> "The Ballad of Barry and Freda (Let's Do It)", originated on this show. It tells the story of Freda (a woman eager for sex) and Barry (an introverted man terrified of intimate relations), and makes clever use of allusions to a multitude of risqué activities while avoiding all taboo words.<ref>{{cite web |last=Wood |first=Victoria
 |title=The Ballad of Barry and Freda (Let's do it!) |publisher=prestel.co.uk |url=http://www2.prestel.co.uk/cello/BarryAndFreda.htm |access-date=27 August 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070909162400/http://www2.prestel.co.uk/cello/BarryAndFreda.htm |archive-date=9 September 2007}}</ref>

Following the success of the first series of ''[[Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV]]'', Wood went on tour again with ''Lucky Bag'' in March 1985. ''Scene'', a documentary for BBC2 later that year, showed footage of Wood preparing for the tour.

A second series of ''[[Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV]]'' was made in 1986. Before filming began in the summer, Wood went on a short 23-date tour of England and Scotland during March and April. A final 'Special' 40-minute episode of ''As Seen on TV'' was made in 1987 and broadcast later that year.

During autumn 1987 Wood went on the road with what was to be her largest tour yet. The tour included a sell-out two-week run at the [[London Palladium]], and had a second leg in the spring of 1988.

In 1988 she appeared in the [[BAFTA]]-winning ''[[An Audience with...|An Audience with Victoria Wood]]'' for [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]]. At the time of recording the show she was six months pregnant. The end of 1988 saw the release of her second live performance ''Victoria Wood Live'', recorded at the Brighton Dome.<ref name="Brandwood"/>

===1989–1999===
During this period Wood moved away from the sketch show format and into more self-contained works, often with a bittersweet flavour. ''[[Victoria Wood (1989 TV series)|Victoria Wood]]'' (six parts, 1989) featured Wood in several individual stories such as "We'd Quite Like To Apologise", set in an airport departure lounge, and "Over to Pam", set around a fictional talk show.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/1241016/index.html |title=Victoria Wood (1989)| work = Screenonline.org.uk |publisher= British Film Institute |year=2007}}</ref>

In May 1990, Wood began a large tour of the United Kingdom, which was followed by a ten-week run at the [[Novello Theatre|Strand Theatre]] in London titled ''Victoria Wood Up West''. Wood took the show on the road again during March and April 1991, where it was recorded at the [[Mayflower Theatre]] in Southampton, and later released as ''Victoria Wood Sold Out'' in 1991.<ref name="Brandwood"/><ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b7bd1b31f |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160617104313/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b7bd1b31f |url-status= dead |archive-date= 17 June 2016 |publisher= [[British Film Institute]] |access-date= 20 April 2016 |title= Victoria Wood Sold Out}}</ref>

In 1991, she appeared on the Comic Relief single performing "The Smile Song", the flipside to "The Stonk" (a record by ITV comedians
[[Gareth Hale]] and [[Norman Pace]] with charity supergroup The Stonkers).<ref>London Records 90 Ltd LON 296/LON 296CD/869 363-2</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = http://freakytrigger.co.uk/popular/2011/03/hale-and-pace-the-stonk/| title = HALE AND PACE – "The Stonk" {{!}} FreakyTrigger| date = 3 June 2023}}</ref><ref name="Mabbett">{{Cite book| publisher = Omnibus| isbn = 0-7119-4109-2| last1 = Miles| first1 = Barry| last2 = Mabbett| first2 = Andy| title = Pink Floyd - The Visual Documentary |year= 1994}}</ref> 
A [[List of number-one singles from the 1990s (UK)#1991|UK number-one single]] for one week on 23 March 1991, the record was the UK's 22nd-best-selling single of the year. However, even though it was a joint-single (with "The Smile Song" credited on the front of the single cover<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.ultimatequeen.co.uk/queen/gallery/collaborations/hale-and-pace-the-stonk.htm| title = Hale & Pace "The Stonk" single gallery}}</ref> and listed as track 2 on the seven-inch and CD single rather than being a B-side), the UK singles chart compilers (now the Official Charts Company) did not credit her with having number one hit, in a situation similar to the fate of BAD II's "[[Rush (Big Audio Dynamite II song)|Rush]]", the AA-side of the preceding number one, "[[Should I Stay or Should I Go]]" by [[The Clash]].

She briefly returned to sketches for the 1992 Christmas Day special ''[[Victoria Wood's All Day Breakfast]]'', and also branched out into children's animation, voicing all the characters for the [[CBBC (TV channel)|CBBC]] series ''[[Puppydog Tales]]''.<ref>{{Citation|title=Puppydog Tales|date=1992-09-17|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1710111/|type=Animation, Family|access-date=2021-09-27}}</ref>

In April 1993, Wood began a seven-month tour of the UK. The 104-date tour broke box office records, including 15 sell out shows at London's Royal Albert Hall, and played to residencies in Sheffield, Birmingham, Plymouth, Bristol, Nottingham, Manchester, Leicester, Liverpool, Bournemouth, Oxford, Southampton, Newcastle, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Leeds and Hull.<ref name="Brandwood"/><ref>Tour dates listed in 1993 and 1994 Tour Programmes.</ref>

The television film ''[[Pat and Margaret]]'' (1994), starring Wood and Julie Walters as long-lost sisters with very different lifestyles, continued her return to stand-alone plays with a poignant undercurrent to the comedy.<ref>{{cite web |last =Duguid |first =Mark |title =Pat and Margaret (1994) |work = Screenonline.org.uk |publisher = British Film Institute |date =July 2003 |url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/1246899/index.html |access-date =18 October 2007}}</ref>

In 1994, Wood starred in the one-off BBC 50-minute programme based on her 1993/94 stage show ''Victoria Wood: Live in Your Own Home''. The special featured stand-up routines, character monologues and songs.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-17625869.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160529073150/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-17625869.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=29 May 2016|title=Television: Behave yourself Parky!|last=Young|first=Graham|date=24 March 2000|work=[[Birmingham Evening Mail]]|access-date=20 April 2016}}{{subscription required}}</ref><ref name=bficat>{{cite web |url = http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/578938/credits.html |publisher= [[British Film Institute]] |access-date= 20 April 2016 |title= Wood, Victoria (1953–)}}</ref> An extended 80 minute version was released on VHS.

Wood set out on a 68-date tour of the UK in May 1996, which played at venues in Leicester, Sheffield, Ipswich, Blackpool, Wolverhampton, Bradford, Newcastle, Bournemouth, Brighton, Nottingham, Oxford, Southend, Manchester and Cambridge. The tour culminated with another 15 sell-out shows at London's Royal Albert Hall in the autumn. The tour recommenced in April 1997 in Liverpool and then travelled to Australia and New Zealand during the summer. It was later released as ''Victoria Wood Live 1997''.<ref name="Brandwood"/><ref name=bficat/>

In October 1997, Wood released a compilation of 14 of her songs titled ''Victoria Wood, Real Life The Songs''.<ref name="Brandwood"/>

Her first sitcom ''[[Dinnerladies (TV series)|dinnerladies]]'' (1998), continued her now established milieu of mostly female, mostly middle-aged characters depicted vividly and amusingly, but with a counterpoint of sadder themes.<ref>{{cite web
 | last =Duguid |first =Mark |title =dinnerladies (1998–2000) |work = Screenonline.org.uk
|publisher =British Film Institute |date =July 2003 |url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/578972/index.html |access-date =18 October 2007}}</ref>

===2000–2005===
December 2000 saw the Christmas sketch show special ''[[Victoria Wood with All the Trimmings]]'', featuring her regular troupe of actors as well as a string of special guest stars including [[Hugh Laurie]], [[Angela Rippon]], [[Bob Monkhouse]], [[Bill Paterson (actor)|Bill Paterson]], [[Delia Smith]] and [[Roger Moore]].

2001 saw Wood embark on her final stand-up tour, ''Victoria Wood at It Again'' but was postponed slightly by Wood having to have an emergency [[hysterectomy]] shortly before the tour was due to begin. She re-wrote the entire first half of the show and incorporated the operation into her act. The 62-date tour included 12 nights at the [[Royal Albert Hall]] and had a further 23 dates in 2002.<ref name="Brandwood"/><ref name=bficat/>

During this period, Wood tended to move away from comedy to concentrate on drama. She continued to produce one-off specials including ''Victoria Wood's Sketch Show Story'' (2002) and ''Victoria Wood's Big Fat Documentary'' (2005).<ref>{{cite web |title =Victoria Wood's Sketch Show Story |publisher =Simply Stephanie Beacham |year =2007 |url =http://simplystephaniebeacham.com/SketchShow/sketchshowstory.html |archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20060321165013/http://simplystephaniebeacham.com/SketchShow/sketchshowstory.html |url-status =dead |archive-date =21 March 2006 |access-date =18 October 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title =Victoria Wood's Big Fat Documentary |publisher =weightlossresources.co.uk |year =2004 |url=http://www.weightlossresources.co.uk/diet/bigfatdocumentary.htm |access-date =18 October 2007}}</ref>

Wood wrote her first musical, ''[[Acorn Antiques: The Musical!]]'', which opened in 2005 at the [[Haymarket Theatre|Theatre Royal, Haymarket]], London, for a limited period, directed by [[Trevor Nunn]]. It starred several of the original cast, with [[Sally Ann Triplett]] playing Miss Berta (played in the series by Wood). Wood played Julie Walters' lead role of ''Mrs Overall'' for Monday and Wednesday matinee performances.<ref>{{cite news |first =Caroline |last =Briggs |title =Mrs Overall Sings Onto The Stage | work =[[BBC News]] |date =2 December 2004 |url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/arts/4062051.stm}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Rees |first1=Jasper |author1-link=I Found My Horn |title=Let's Do It: the Authorised Biography of Victoria Wood |date=October 2020 |publisher=Trapeze |location=London |isbn=978-1409184102 |url=https://www.thebookseller.com/news/trapeze-triumphs-winning-wood-biography-766391 |access-date=27 December 2020 |language=en |oclc=1226752410}}</ref>

===2006–2010===
Wood wrote the one-off [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] serious drama ''[[Housewife, 49]]'' (2006), an adaptation of the diaries of [[Nella Last]], and played the eponymous role of an introverted middle-aged character who discovers new confidence and friendships in Lancashire during the [[Second World War]]. ''Housewife, 49'' was critically acclaimed, and Wood won [[British Academy of Film and Television Arts|BAFTA]]s for both her acting and writing for this drama; a rare double.<ref>{{cite news |title =Victoria Wood Scoops BAFTA Double |work =[[BBC News]] |date =20 May 2007 |url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6670797.stm |access-date = 18 October 2007 }}</ref> The film also starred [[Stephanie Cole]] and David Threlfall as well as, in a small role, [[Sue Wallace]] with whom Wood had worked before and studied alongside at Birmingham.

In November 2006, Wood directed a revival production of ''Acorn Antiques: The Musical!'' with a new cast. The musical opened at [[the Lowry]] in [[City of Salford|Salford]] in December and toured the United Kingdom from January to July 2007.<ref>{{cite news |title =Acorn Antiques: The Musical! |newspaper =The Stage |date =28 August 2007 |url =http://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/review.php/15334/acorn-antiques-the-musical- |access-date =18 October 2007 }}</ref>

In January 2007, she appeared as herself in a series of advertisements featuring famous people working for the supermarket chain [[Asda]]. They featured Wood working in the bakery and introduced a catchphrase&nbsp;– "there's no place like ASDA".<ref>{{cite news |title =A Touch of Class? |work = Ad Breakdown |publisher =[[BBC News]] |date =2 May 2007 |url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/6592007.stm |access-date = 18 October 2007 }}</ref> Wood was the subject of an episode of ''[[The South Bank Show]]'' in March 2007, and is the only woman to be the subject of two ''South Bank'' programmes (the previous occasion was in September 1996).<ref>{{cite web |title =The South Bank Show |publisher =epguides.com |date =2 May 2007 |url = http://epguides.com/SouthBankShow/ |access-date = 18 October 2007 }}</ref>

Wood appeared in a three-part travel documentary on [[BBC One]] called ''[[Victoria's Empire]]'', in which she travelled around the world in search of the history, cultural impact and customs the [[British Empire]] placed on the parts of the world it ruled. She departed Victoria Station, London, for [[Calcutta]], Hong Kong and [[Borneo]] in the first programme. In programme two she visited [[Ghana]], [[Jamaica]] and [[Newfoundland and Labrador|Newfoundland]] and in the final programme, [[New Zealand]], Australia and [[Zambia]], finishing at the [[Victoria Falls]].<ref>{{cite news |last =Mangan |first =Lucy |title =The Weekend's TV: Victoria's Empire |newspaper =[[The Guardian]] |date =30 April 2007 |url = https://www.theguardian.com/media/2007/apr/30/tvandradio.comment |access-date = 18 October 2007 |location=London}}</ref>

In a tribute to Wood, the British television station [[UKTV Gold]] celebrated her work with a weekend marathon of programmes between 3 and 4 November 2007, featuring programmes such as ''Victoria Wood Live'' and ''[[Dinnerladies (TV series)|dinnerladies]]'' and ''Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV''&nbsp;– its first screening on British television since 1995.

Wood returned to stand-up comedy, with a special performance for the celebratory show ''Happy Birthday BAFTA'' on 28 October 2007, alongside other household names. The programme was transmitted on [[ITV1]] on Wednesday 7 November 2007.<ref>{{cite web |work=BAFTA Heritage |url=http://www.bafta.org/heritage/features/happy-birthday-bafta,165,BA.html |title=''Happy Birthday BAFTA'' |access-date= 15 December 2013 |date=8 November 2007}}</ref> On Boxing Day 2007 she appeared as "Nana" in the Granada dramatisation of [[Noel Streatfeild]]'s novel ''[[Ballet Shoes (film)|Ballet Shoes]]''.<ref>{{cite news |last =Hemley |first =Matthew |title =Wood to star in a BBC1 adaptation of Ballet Shoes |newspaper =[[The Stage]] |date =20 July 2007 |url = http://www.thestage.co.uk/news/newsstory.php/17473/wood-to-star-in-a-bbc1-adaptation-of-ballet |access-date = 18 October 2007 }}</ref>

In December 2007, when a guest on the radio programme ''[[Desert Island Discs]]'', Wood said she was about to make her first foray into film, writing a script described as a contemporary comedy about a middle-aged person. On Thursday, 12 June 2008, Wood was a member of the celebrity guest panel on the series ''[[The Apprentice: You're Fired!]]'' on BBC Two. In June 2009, she appeared as a panellist on the first two episodes of a series of ''[[I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue]]''.

In 2009, Wood provided the voice of [[God]] for ''Liberace, Live From Heaven'' by [[Julian Woolford]] at London's [[Leicester Square Theatre]]. Wood returned to television comedy for a one-off Christmas sketch-show special, her first for nine years, ''[[Victoria Wood's Mid Life Christmas]]'', transmitted on BBC One at 21:00 on Christmas Eve 2009.<ref>{{cite web |last =Brown |first =Mark |title =BBC One Christmas special for Victoria Wood |publisher =Seen It |date =17 September 2009 |url = http://www.seenit.co.uk/bbc-one-christmas-special-for-victoria-wood/094152/ |access-date = 19 September 2009 }}</ref> It reunited Wood with Julie Walters in ''Lark Pies to Cranchesterford'', a spoof of BBC period dramas ''[[Lark Rise to Candleford (TV series)|Lark Rise to Candleford]]'', ''[[Little Dorrit (TV series)|Little Dorrit]]'' and ''[[Cranford (TV series)|Cranford]]''; a spoof documentary, ''Beyond the Marigolds'', following ''[[Acorn Antiques]]'' star Bo Beaumont (Walters); highlights from the ''Mid Life Olympics 2009'' with Wood as the commentator; parodies of personal injury advertisements; and a reprise of Wood's most famous song "The Ballad of Barry and Freda" ("Let's Do It"), performed as a musical number with tap-dancers and a band. ''Victoria Wood: Seen On TV'', a 90-minute documentary looking back on her career, was broadcast on BBC Two on 21 December, whilst a behind-the-scenes special programme about ''Midlife Christmas'', ''Victoria Wood: What Larks!'', was broadcast on BBC One on 30 December.

===2011–2016===
On New Year's Day 2011, Wood appeared in a BBC drama ''[[Eric and Ernie]]'' as [[Eric Morecambe]]'s mother, Sadie Bartholomew.<ref>{{cite news |title =Victoria Wood tells all about Eric and Ernie | work =[[BBC News]] |date =30 December 2010 |url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-11768311 |access-date = 22 August 2011}}</ref>

For the 2011 [[Manchester International Festival]], Wood wrote, composed and directed ''[[That Day We Sang]]'',<ref name=Hicking>{{cite news|last1=Hicking|first1=Alfred|title=That Day We Sang – review|url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2011/jul/07/musicals-victoria-wood|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=7 July 2011|access-date=20 August 2019}}</ref> a musical set in 1969 with [[flashback (narrative)|flashbacks]] to 1929. It tells the story of a middle-aged couple who find love after meeting on a TV programme about a choir they both sang in 40 years previously. Although the characters are imaginary, the choir sang with the [[The Hallé|Hallé Youth Orchestra]]<ref name=Ward_Guardian>{{cite news|last1=Ward|first1=David|title=Victoria Wood recalls a historic day for Manchester music|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2011/jun/30/victoria-wood-historic|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=30 June 2011|access-date=20 August 2019}}</ref> in Manchester's [[Free Trade Hall]] on a record that sold more than a million copies. Apart from the pieces on the 1929 recording ([[Henry Purcell|Purcell's]] "[[Nymphs and Shepherds]]" and the Evening Benediction from ''[[Hänsel und Gretel (opera)|Hansel and Gretel]]'') the score for the musical was written by Wood.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/s/1405472_remembering_manchester_childrens_choir |first= Lydia |last= Warren |title= Remembering Manchester Children's Choir |newspaper= Manchester Evening News |date= 17 January 2011 |access-date= 19 July 2011 |archive-date= 28 September 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110928043940/http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/s/1405472_remembering_manchester_childrens_choir |url-status= dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title =That Day We Sang : A Manchester love story&nbsp;– with singing |publisher =[[Manchester International Festival]] |url =http://mif.co.uk/event/victoria-wood-that-day-we-sang |archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20101006024347/http://www.mif.co.uk/event/victoria-wood-that-day-we-sang/ |url-status =dead |archive-date =6 October 2010 |access-date =21 August 2011 }}</ref> She also narrated the 2012 miniseries ''[[The Talent Show Story]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ukgameshows.com/ukgs/The_Talent_Show_Story|title=The Talent Show Story – UKGameshows|website=www.ukgameshows.com|access-date=27 May 2019}}</ref>

On 22 December 2012, Wood was a guest on [[BBC Radio 2]]'s Saturday morning ''Graham Norton Show''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p012wllm |title=BBC Radio 2&nbsp;– Graham Norton, 22/12/2012, Victoria Wood chats to Graham Norton |date=22 December 2012 |publisher=Bbc.co.uk |access-date=22 April 2016}}</ref> On 23 December [[BBC One]] screened ''[[Loving Miss Hatto]]'', a drama written by Wood about the life of concert pianist [[Joyce Hatto]], the centre of a scandal over the authenticity of her recordings and her role in the hoax.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/proginfo/2012/52/loving-miss-hatto.html ''Loving Miss Hatto''], BBC Media Centre. Retrieved: 24 December 2012.</ref> In April 2013, Wood produced a documentary about the history of tea named ''Victoria Wood's Nice Cup of Tea''.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/last-nights-viewing-victoria-woods-nice-cup-of-tea-bbc1the-century-that-wrote-itself-bbc4-8567817.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220817/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/last-nights-viewing-victoria-woods-nice-cup-of-tea-bbc1the-century-that-wrote-itself-bbc4-8567817.html |archive-date=17 August 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live | location=London | work=[[The Independent]] | first=Gerard | last=Gilbert | title=Last Night's Viewing: Victoria Wood's Nice Cup of Tea, BBC1 The Century That Wrote Itself, BBC4 | date=11 April 2013}}</ref> In 2013 she played retired constable-turned-security-guard Tracy in BBC Scotland's ''[[Case Histories (TV series)|Case Histories]]'' starring [[Jason Isaacs]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/tv-and-radio-reviews/10067299/Case-Histories-BBC-One-review.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/tv-and-radio-reviews/10067299/Case-Histories-BBC-One-review.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Case Histories, BBC One, review|last=Davies|first=Serena|date=20 May 2013|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|access-date=20 April 2016}}{{cbignore}}</ref> She appeared in an episode of ''[[QI]]'', broadcast on 13 December 2013,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03ls11k|title=QI&nbsp;– Kitchen Sink|publisher=BBC|access-date=20 April 2016}}</ref> and around the same time made two return appearances on ''[[I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue]]'' during the show's 60th series in which she joined in the game [[One Song to the Tune of Another|One song to the tune of Another]], singing the ''[[Bob the Builder]]'' theme "[[Can We Fix It?]]" to the tune of "[[I Dreamed a Dream]]".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.radiotimes.com/programme/dvjm/im-sorry-i-havent-a-clue/episodeguide/series-60|title=I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue&nbsp;– Series 60|work=[[Radio Times]]|access-date=20 April 2016}}</ref> In March 2014, Wood voiced the TV advertisement for the tour of the old set of ''[[Coronation Street]]''. On 5 December 2014 Wood was a guest on BBC's ''[[The Graham Norton Show]]''.<ref>{{cite web|author=British Comedy Guide |url=https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/graham_norton_show/episodes/16/10/ |title=The Graham Norton Show&nbsp;– Series 16 Episode 10 (Michael Keaton, Jamie Oliver, Victoria Wood, Sir Ian McKellen, One Direction)&nbsp;– British Comedy Guide |publisher=Comedy.co.uk |access-date=22 April 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Ingate |first=Kathryn |url=http://www.ok.co.uk/celebrity-video/532095/watch-victoria-wood-joke-about-plastic-surgery |title=Watch Victoria Wood joke about plastic surgery |date=20 April 2016 |publisher=Ok.co.uk |access-date=22 April 2016}}</ref> On 26 December 2014, a television movie adaptation of ''[[That Day We Sang#2014 television film|That Day We Sang]]'', directed by Wood, starring [[Michael Ball (singer)|Michael Ball]] and [[Imelda Staunton]], was shown on [[BBC Two]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/news/a536146/imelda-staunton-michael-ball-for-victoria-wood-drama-tubby-and-enid/|title=Imelda Staunton, Michael Ball for Victoria Wood drama Tubby and Enid|last=Nissim|first=Mayer|date=5 December 2013|website=[[Digital Spy]]|access-date=20 April 2016}}</ref>

In early 2015, Wood took part in a celebrity version of ''[[The Great British Bake Off]]'' for [[Comic Relief]] and was crowned Star Baker in her episode.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.express.co.uk/celebrity-news/563923/Victoria-Wood-Great-Comic-Relief-Bake-Off-2015-champion|title=Red Nose Day 2015: Victoria Wood crowned Great Comic Relief Bake Off champion|last=Price|first=Annie|date=13 March 2015|work=[[Daily Express]]|access-date=20 April 2016}}</ref> She co-starred with [[Timothy Spall]] in [[Sky (United Kingdom)|Sky]] television's three-part television adaptation of ''[[Fungus the Bogeyman]]'', which was first shown on 27, 28 & 29 December 2015,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://go.sky.com/catchup/series/content/series/520f1f5a515c1510VgnVCM1000000b43150a____|title=Fungus The Bogeyman Series 1|publisher=[[Sky (United Kingdom)|Sky]] |access-date=2 January 2016}}</ref> her final acting role.

===Collaborators===
Wood was known for using many of the same actors in her projects, which comedian [[Tiff Stevenson]] later described as "this core of people who she knew she worked well with, and why would [she] want to walk away from that?" Duncan Preston said of these recurring appearances, "I wouldn't say that we were her favourite actors; I think we were like a company that she had."<ref>{{cite episode |series=Victoria Wood: In Her Own Words |date=20 December 2020 |network=[[Channel 5 (British TV channel)|Channel 5]] |publisher=[[ITN Productions]] |time=50:03 |time-caption=At}}</ref> Celia Imrie commented that Wood's "team" approach "meant that we could work together very fast."<ref>{{cite episode |series=Let's Do It: A Tribute to Victoria Wood |date=15 May 2016 |network=[[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] |publisher=[[Shiver Productions]] |time=27:33 |time-caption=At}}</ref> An overview of these recurring cast members is shown below:

{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Actor
!''[[Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV|As Seen on TV]]''
!''[[Victoria Wood (1989 TV series)|Victoria Wood]]''
!''[[Victoria Wood's All Day Breakfast|All Day Breakfast]]''
!''[[Pat and Margaret]]''
!''[[Dinnerladies (TV series)|dinnerladies]]''
!''[[Victoria Wood with All the Trimmings|With All the Trimmings]]''
!''[[Victoria Wood's Mid Life Christmas|Mid Life Christmas]]''
|-
|[[Kay Adshead]]
|{{yes C|Recurring}}
|{{yes C|1 episode}}
|
|
|{{yes C|Guest}}
|
|
|-
|[[Susie Blake]]
|{{yes C|Regular}}
|{{yes C|2 episodes}}
|{{yes C|}}
|
|
|{{yes C|}}
|
|-
|[[Jim Broadbent]]
|{{yes C|Recurring}}
|{{yes C|1 episode}}
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|[[Deborah Grant]]
|{{yes C|Recurring}}
|{{yes C|1 episode}}
|
|{{yes C|}}
|
|
|
|-
|[[Philip Lowrie]]
|
|{{yes C|2 episodes}}
|{{yes C|}}
|{{yes C|}}
|
|
|
|-
|[[Celia Imrie]]
|{{yes C|Regular}}
|{{yes C|3 episodes}}
|{{yes C|}}
|{{yes C|}}
|{{yes C|Regular}}
|{{yes C|}}
|
|-
|[[Duncan Preston]]
|{{yes C|Regular}}
|{{yes C|1 episode}}
|{{yes C|}}
|{{yes C|}}
|{{yes C|Regular}}
|
|
|-
|[[Anne Reid]]
|{{yes C|Guest}}
|{{yes C|2 episodes}}
|
|{{yes C|}}
|{{yes C|Regular}}
|{{yes C|}}
|
|-
|[[Lill Roughley]]
|{{yes C|Recurring}}
|{{yes C|4 episodes}}
|{{yes C|}}
|
|{{yes C|Guest}}
|{{yes C|}}
|
|-
|[[Julie Walters]]
|{{yes C|Regular}}
|{{yes C|3 episodes}}
|{{yes C|}}
|{{yes C|}}
|{{yes C|Recurring}}
|{{yes C|}}
|{{yes C|}}
|}

==Awards and recognition==
In 1979, Wood received the [[Evening Standard Theatre Awards|Charles Wintour Award for Most Promising Playwright]] at the [[Evening Standard Theatre Awards]] for her play ''[[Talent (play)|Talent]]''.<ref name="ev.std.1955.1979">{{Cite news|title=Evening Standard theatre awards: 1955-1979 |url= https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/theatre/evening-standard-theatre-awards-19551979-7236386.html|date=10 April 2012|newspaper=standard.co.uk}}</ref>

In 1997, Wood was appointed an [[Officer of the Order of the British Empire]] (OBE) in the [[1997 Birthday Honours]].<ref>{{cite web |title =Victoria Wood&nbsp;– A Chronology |publisher =prestel.co.uk |date =July 2003 |url=http://www2.prestel.co.uk/cello/Chronology.htm |access-date =18 October 2007 }}</ref> Earlier in 1994, she was made an honorary [[honorary degree|Doctor of Letters]] by the [[University of Sunderland]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Alumni |publisher=University of Sunderland |date=July 2003 |url=http://alumni.sunderland.ac.uk/htmlver/FAQdowehave.htm |access-date=18 October 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070113070309/http://alumni.sunderland.ac.uk/htmlver/FAQdowehave.htm |archive-date=13 January 2007 }}</ref> She was appointed a [[Commander of the Order of the British Empire]] (CBE) in the [[2008 Birthday Honours]].<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=58729 |date=14 June 2008 |page=8 |supp=y}}</ref>

In 2003, she was listed in ''[[The Observer]]'' as one of the ''50 Funniest Acts in British Comedy''.<ref>{{cite news |title =The A-Z of laughter (part two) |newspaper =[[The Guardian]] |date =7 December 2003 |url=http://arts.guardian.co.uk/features/story/0,,1101525,00.html |access-date =18 October 2007 |location=London}}</ref> In the 2005 [[Channel 4]] poll the ''Comedians' Comedian'', she was voted 27th<ref>{{cite web |title =The comedians' comedian : News 2004 : Chortle | work=The UK Comedy Guide |publisher =chortle.co.uk |year =2004 |url=http://www.chortle.co.uk/news/2004/12/01/26/ |access-date =28 October 2013 }}</ref> out of the top 50 comedy acts by fellow comedians and comedy insiders. She was the highest-ranked woman on the list, above [[French and Saunders]] (who paid tribute to her in their ''Lord of the Rings'' spoof, where a map of Middle-Earth shows a forest called 'Victoria Wood'), [[Joan Rivers]] and [[Joyce Grenfell]].<ref>{{cite web |title =Eric Idle // Idleized Heaven // The Daily Dirty Fork&nbsp;– 2005 |publisher =eric-idle.com |year =2005 |url=http://www.eric-idle.com/ddf05.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071003135357/http://www.eric-idle.com/ddf05.html |archive-date=3 October 2007 |access-date =31 October 2007 }}</ref>

Her sketch show ''[[Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV]]'' won [[BAFTA]] awards for its two series and Christmas Special.<ref>{{cite web|title=Bafta Television and Craft |publisher=Bafta |url=http://www.bafta.org/site/page230.html |access-date=1 June 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070601153403/http://www.bafta.org/site/page230.html |archive-date=1 June 2007 }}</ref> In 2007, she was nominated<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6543857.stm |title=Wood nominated for record BAFTA | work=[[BBC News]] | date=11 April 2007 | access-date=6 January 2010}}</ref> for and won<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6670797.stm |title=Victoria Wood scoops Bafta double | work=[[BBC News]] | date=20 May 2007 | access-date=6 January 2010}}</ref> the [[British Academy of Film and Television Arts|BAFTA]] awards for "Best Actress" and for "Best Single Drama" for her role in the British war-time drama ''[[Housewife, 49]]'', in which she played the part of a housewife dominated by her moody husband. Wood's character eventually stands up to him and helps the WRVS (Women's Royal Voluntary Service) in their preparations for British soldiers.

Her popularity with the British public was confirmed when she won 'Best Stand-Up' and 'Best Sketch Show' by ''[[Radio Times]]'' readers in 2001.<ref>{{cite news |title =Radio Times Comedy Poll results |work =[[BBC News]] |date =21 August 2001 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/entertainment/tv_and_radio/1501357.stm |access-date =18 October 2007 }}</ref> Wood was also voted 'Funniest Comedian' by the readers of ''[[Reader's Digest]]'' in 2005<ref>{{cite news|title=Victoria Wood voted funniest woman |newspaper=Manchester Evening News |date=17 August 2005 |url=http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/entertainment/comedy/c/170126_victoria_wood_voted_funniest_woman.html?page_size=50 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130421035946/http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/entertainment/comedy/c/170126_victoria_wood_voted_funniest_woman.html?page_size=50 |url-status=dead |archive-date=21 April 2013 |access-date=18 October 2007 }}</ref> and came eighth in ITV's poll of the public's ''50 Greatest Stars'', four places behind long term regular co-star [[Julie Walters]].

Wood was the recipient of six [[British Comedy Awards]]: Best stand-up live comedy performer (1990); Best female comedy performer (1995); [[WGGB]] Writer of the year (2000); Best live stand-up (2001); Outstanding achievement award (jointly awarded to Julie Walters) (2005); Best female TV comic (2011).<ref>{{cite web|title=Past Winners|url=http://www.britishcomedyawards.com/past-winners.aspx|website=British Comedy Awards|access-date=15 May 2017}}</ref> Wood was nominated for the 1991 [[Laurence Olivier Award for Best Entertainment|Olivier Award for Best Entertainment]] for ''Victoria Wood Up West''.

===BAFTA nominations===
Wood was a 14-time [[British Academy Television Awards|BAFTA TV Award]] nominee, winning four. She received a special BAFTA at a tribute evening in 2005.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://awards.bafta.org/keyword-search?keywords=victoria%20wood| publisher = [[British Academy of Film and Television Arts]] | access-date = 20 April 2016 | title = BAFTA Awards&nbsp;– Victoria Wood}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Year
!Award
!Nominated work
!Result
|-
|1986
|rowspan=5|Best Light Entertainment Performance
|rowspan=3|''[[Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV]]''
|{{won}}
|-
|1987
|{{nom}}
|-
|1988
|{{nom}}
|-
|1989
|''[[An Audience With Victoria Wood]]''
|{{won}}
|-
|1990
|''[[Victoria Wood (1989 TV series)|Victoria Wood]]''
|{{nom}}
|-
|rowspan=3|1995
|[[British Academy Television Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]]
|rowspan=2|''[[Pat and Margaret]]''
|{{nom}}
|-
|Best Single Drama
|{{nom}}
|-
|Best Light Entertainment Performance
|''Victoria Wood: Live in Your Own Home''
|{{nom}}
|-
|1999
|Best Comedy Programme or Series
|rowspan=2|''[[Dinnerladies (TV series)|dinnerladies]]''
|{{nom}}
|-
|2000
|Best Situation Comedy
|{{nom}}
|-
|2001
|Best Comedy Programme or Series
|''[[Victoria Wood with All the Trimmings]]''
|{{nom}}
|-
|rowspan=2|2007
|[[British Academy Television Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]]
|rowspan=2|''[[Housewife, 49]]''
|{{won}}
|-
|rowspan=2|Best Single Drama
|{{won}}
|-
|2011
|''[[Eric and Ernie]]''
|{{nom}}
|}
* ''Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV'' won the BAFTA for Best Entertainment Programme in 1986, 1987 and 1988; these awards went to the producer, [[Geoff Posner]].
* ''An Audience With Victoria Wood'' won the BAFTA for Best Entertainment Programme in 1989; this award went to David G. Hillier.

==Personal life==
Wood married the stage magician [[Geoffrey Durham]] in March 1980. They had two children: Grace, born 1 October 1988 and Henry, born 2 May 1992. The couple separated in October 2002<ref>{{cite news
 |url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/2360153.stm |title = Comic Wood splits from husband |work =[[BBC News]] |date = 25 October 2002 |access-date = 13 March 2011}}</ref> and divorced in 2005, but continued to live near one another and were on good terms.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Anglesey|first1=Natalie|title=Victoria Wood: I'm making a song and dance of a Mancunian love story|url=http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/whats-on/arts-culture-news/victoria-wood-im-making-song-6359622|access-date=22 April 2016|newspaper=Manchester Evening News}}</ref> Henry made a cameo performance as a teenager in ''[[Victoria Wood's Mid Life Christmas]]''. He also appeared in the accompanying 'behind the scenes' programme ''Victoria Wood: What Larks!''. Both children had already made appearances as extras on ''[[Victoria Wood with All the Trimmings]]'' in 2000.

Wood attended [[Quakers|Quaker]] [[Meeting for worship|meetings]]<ref>{{cite news |url = https://www.theguardian.com/society/2002/may/22/religion.news |title = Peace of the action |work = [[The Guardian]] |date = 22 May 2002 |access-date = 30 December 2011 |location=London |first=Stephen |last=Bates}}</ref> with her husband and was a vegetarian, once remarking, "I'm all for killing animals and turning them into handbags; I just don't want to have to eat them."<ref name="Brandwood"/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2016/apr/20/victoria-wood-obituary|title=Victoria Wood obituary|first=Stuart|last=Jeffries|date=20 April 2016|access-date=27 May 2019|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref>

==Death==
Wood received a diagnosis of [[esophageal cancer|oesophageal cancer]] in late 2015, but kept her illness largely private.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/victoria-wood-dead-brother-tribute-good-morning-britain-interview_uk_571885b6e4b06e37a8477242|title=Victoria Wood's Brother Claims She Was 'Determined' To Keep Cancer Battle Secret
|first=Ash|last= Percival|date=21 April 2016|website=The Huffington Post|language=en-GB|access-date=2 May 2016}}</ref> She died on 20 April 2016 at her [[Highgate]] home, in the presence of her children and sister Rosalind.<ref name="Saul 2016">{{cite news|last1=Saul|first1=Heather|title=Victoria Wood dead: Actress and comedian dies from cancer aged 62|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/victoria-wood-dead-actress-and-comedian-dies-from-cancer-a6992966.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220817/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/victoria-wood-dead-actress-and-comedian-dies-from-cancer-a6992966.html |archive-date=17 August 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|date=20 April 2016|access-date=20 April 2016|work=[[The Independent]]}}</ref> Her funeral was conducted by a [[secular humanism|humanist]] celebrant at [[Golders Green Crematorium]] on 4 May 2016.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://inews.co.uk/essentials/news/uk/popularity-non-religious-humanist-ceremonies-soaring/ | title=The popularity of non-religious Humanist ceremonies is soaring | work=[[i (British newspaper)|i]] |date=11 December 2016 |access-date=4 May 2017}}</ref> A [[memorial service]] was held at [[St James's Church, Piccadilly|St James, Piccadilly]] on 4 July 2016.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0940064/trivia/ | title=Victoria Wood: Trivia | website=[[IMDb]] | accessdate=29 October 2023 }}</ref>

==Tributes==
[[File:Victoria Wood's Statue.jpg|thumb|Statue in Library Gardens, Bury.]]
On 15 May 2016, [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] broadcast ''Let's Do It: A Tribute to Victoria Wood''. In 2017, Wood was the subject of a seven-part show dedicated mainly to extracts from her TV and live work. The main series, titled ''Our Friend Victoria'', aired on [[BBC One]] between 11 April and 9 May and concluded later in the year with a Christmas special on 23 December 2017. The seven episodes were presented by [[Julie Walters]], [[Richard E. Grant]], [[Michael Ball (singer)|Michael Ball]], [[Maxine Peake]], [[The League of Gentlemen]], [[Daniel Rigby]] and [[Anne Reid]]. On 17 May 2019, a statue of Wood was unveiled in her home town of Bury in Lancashire.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-manchester-47000728|title=Hometown backs Victoria Wood statue|work=[[BBC News]]|date=25 January 2019|access-date=27 May 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/victoria-wood-statue-revealed-bury-16293128|title=The Victoria Wood statue in Bury has been unveiled|first=Paul|last=Britton|date=17 May 2019|website=men|access-date=27 May 2019}}</ref>

==Bibliography==
* {{cite book |last1=Brandwood |first1=Neil |title=Victoria Wood : the biography |date=2002 |publisher=Virgin Books |location=London |isbn=1-85227-982-6 |oclc=820130497}}<!-- Ted Smart, St. Helens, Lancashire, https://www.theguardian.com/books/2002/aug/04/society -->
* {{cite book |last1=Rees |first1=Jasper |author1-link=I Found My Horn |title=Let's Do It: the Authorised Biography of Victoria Wood |date=October 2020 |publisher=Trapeze |location=London |isbn=978-1409184102 |language=en |oclc=1226752410}}<!-- https://web.archive.org/web/20201227034524/https://twitter.com/TrapezeBooks/status/984125678592421911 -->
* Christopher Foote Wood. ''Victoria Wood Comedy Genius - Her Life and Work'', Published by The Memoir Club, 07552086888, {{ISBN|978-1-84104-596-2}} {{OCLC|964380355}}
* Christopher Foote Wood. ''Nellie's book : the early life of Victoria Wood's mother'', with Nellie Wood (co-author), The History Press (2006), {{ISBN|978-0-7509-4180-8}} {{OCLC|62344119}}

==References==
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*{{IMDb name|0940064}}
*{{Screenonline name|id=578938|name=Victoria Wood}}
*[http://carolinescomedybase.tripod.com/victoria.html Profile at Caroline's Comedy Base]
*[http://www.museum.tv/eotv/woodvictori.htm Victoria Wood] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161009115829/http://www.museum.tv/eotv/woodvictori.htm |date=9 October 2016 }} at TV Museum

{{Victoria Wood|state=expanded}}
{{British Academy Television Award for Best Actress}}
{{British Academy Television Award for Best Entertainment Performance}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wood, Victoria}}
[[Category:1953 births]]
[[Category:2016 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century English actresses]]
[[Category:20th-century English comedians]]
[[Category:21st-century English actresses]]
[[Category:21st-century English comedians]]
[[Category:Actresses from Bury, Greater Manchester]]
[[Category:Actors from Prestwich]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of Birmingham]]
[[Category:Best Actress BAFTA Award (television) winners]]
[[Category:Best Entertainment Performance BAFTA Award (television) winners]]
[[Category:British women television writers]]
[[Category:Comedians from Lancashire]]
[[Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:Deaths from cancer in England]]
[[Category:English humanists]]
[[Category:English Quakers]]
[[Category:English stand-up comedians]]
[[Category:English television actresses]]
[[Category:English television writers]]
[[Category:English voice actresses]]
[[Category:English women comedians]]
[[Category:English women pianists]]
[[Category:Honorary members of the Royal Academy of Music]]
[[Category:People educated at Bury Grammar School (Girls)]]
[[Category:Television show creators]]
[[Category:Writers from Lancashire]]