This was the highest-rated (albeit not the highest charting) episode, reaching 51st place in the charts with 9.2 million viewers.
In both this episode and the pilot, Bert claims that their last phone bill was £300.
£300 in 1987 would be the equivalent of £826 in 2023.
£300 in 1987 would be the equivalent of £826 in 2023.
All of the sequences with Maisie (Anna Keaveney) leaving her husband and getting in taxis/walking the streets are taken directly from the unscreened pilot episode. This includes the brief sequence where Maisie calls to see Rita (Maggie McCarthy) at her flat.
There are only two differences, one being that a brief bit of dialogue with the taxi driver talking about déjà vu is edited out for this episode.
The other change is that the first house Maisie calls on after leaving has her saying "Oh God, Winnie, where are ya?", implying that this is an unseen friend who isn't in, before she tries calling on Rita and Edna. In the broadcast version, this line is overdubbed, replacing "Winnie" with "Edna". This does give the odd plot development that she quickly gave up waiting for her first friend to answer, then went back to see her again later.
There are only two differences, one being that a brief bit of dialogue with the taxi driver talking about déjà vu is edited out for this episode.
The other change is that the first house Maisie calls on after leaving has her saying "Oh God, Winnie, where are ya?", implying that this is an unseen friend who isn't in, before she tries calling on Rita and Edna. In the broadcast version, this line is overdubbed, replacing "Winnie" with "Edna". This does give the odd plot development that she quickly gave up waiting for her first friend to answer, then went back to see her again later.
This first episode is a straight remake of Unbroadcast Pilot (1986), with only superficial changes to the script.
The main differences are the set for the house and some cast changes, most notably Shaun Curry replacing Michael Robbins as Bert.
Very minor changes to the script include Maisie forgetting longer words in the pilot, such as being unable to say the word "emancipated", and having Bert mockingly say "emaciated" - this character trait doesn't appear in the broadcast episode. There's also a sequence where a nosy customer asking after Maisie's whereabouts is told to hire Kojak if she's so interested - in this broadcast version this is changed to a more up-to-date Bergerac.
While the vast majority of the location scenes with Anna Keaveney are reused from the pilot, one part that isn't is the scene where she calls her husband, pretending to be his CB Radio contact "Bird of Paradise". The pilot has Keaveney performing this on location in an actual phone box - for this first episode it's recreated in a studio set.
The main differences are the set for the house and some cast changes, most notably Shaun Curry replacing Michael Robbins as Bert.
Very minor changes to the script include Maisie forgetting longer words in the pilot, such as being unable to say the word "emancipated", and having Bert mockingly say "emaciated" - this character trait doesn't appear in the broadcast episode. There's also a sequence where a nosy customer asking after Maisie's whereabouts is told to hire Kojak if she's so interested - in this broadcast version this is changed to a more up-to-date Bergerac.
While the vast majority of the location scenes with Anna Keaveney are reused from the pilot, one part that isn't is the scene where she calls her husband, pretending to be his CB Radio contact "Bird of Paradise". The pilot has Keaveney performing this on location in an actual phone box - for this first episode it's recreated in a studio set.
Journalist Chris Rundle gave this edition a generally negative review the following day in Bristol's "Western Daily Press".
Rundle wrote: "THE BBC seems to be heading distinctly for the lower end of the market with DIVIDED WE STAND (BBC 1).
Don't look for any subtle humour flowing from the pen of Myra Taylor here in this tale of marital disharmony. Prepare yourself, in fact, for quite the opposite.
For Ms Taylor, whose earlier success with the Liver Birds was considerably leavened by the input of co-writer Carla Lane, has let fly with a full-blooded, no-frills domestic sitcom which, if not actually coarse, gets pretty close to it.
Anna Keaveney and Shaun Curry play the couple whose years of wedded misery finally end in separation under the same roof, a situation only made slightly amusing by the fact that there are no children around.
It is set, for a change, in the Midlands, with most of the cast making a reasonable job of the regional accent.
Perhaps it's because we had to wait literally until the last scene to see how the separation was going to be organised (answer: A new wall down the middle of the sitting room) but I found it pretty laboured."
Rundle wrote: "THE BBC seems to be heading distinctly for the lower end of the market with DIVIDED WE STAND (BBC 1).
Don't look for any subtle humour flowing from the pen of Myra Taylor here in this tale of marital disharmony. Prepare yourself, in fact, for quite the opposite.
For Ms Taylor, whose earlier success with the Liver Birds was considerably leavened by the input of co-writer Carla Lane, has let fly with a full-blooded, no-frills domestic sitcom which, if not actually coarse, gets pretty close to it.
Anna Keaveney and Shaun Curry play the couple whose years of wedded misery finally end in separation under the same roof, a situation only made slightly amusing by the fact that there are no children around.
It is set, for a change, in the Midlands, with most of the cast making a reasonable job of the regional accent.
Perhaps it's because we had to wait literally until the last scene to see how the separation was going to be organised (answer: A new wall down the middle of the sitting room) but I found it pretty laboured."