For Maddie with Love
For Maddie with Love is a 1980 British television drama serial dealing with Maddie’s discovery that she has a brain tumour and only a few months to live. This 48-part daytime serial, written by Douglas Watkinson was made by ATV and shown on British television beginning in May 1980. Maddie was played by Nyree Dawn Porter and her husband by Ian Hendry. The series ran over two years from 1980 to 1981 and was published as a novel in 1980 by NEL books. It has never been repeated or remade. Unusually the setting for the drama looked more like that of a theatre piece. Partial sets were used with only the furniture and background items strictly needed for each scene. This gave the look a slightly surreal feel but one that drew the viewer in. It was given a daytime afternoon slot, one for which it was expected to get a mainly female based following. The quality of the writing and the acting soon meant that its viewing audience widened. However as it was never shown during peak viewing times it did not become as well known as it might.
