Sally Phillips stars as Clare in the first series of the award-winning BBC Radio 4 comedy.
Harry Venning (Author)
'Clare in the Community began as a strip cartoon in the social work
magazine Care Weekly. Six weeks later Care Weekly ceased
publication, but no link was ever established between the two
events. After this less than auspicious start she transferred to
The Guardian, where she has been ever since.
In 2004 Clare made the leap from a printed page to the airwaves of
Radio 4 as a sitcom, which demanded her character be fleshed out
considerably. We decided that she should be white, middle class and
heterosexual - all of which are causes of discomfort to her - and
that her obsessive involvement in other people's lives was the way
she avoided addressing the problems of her own.
At first we had a bit of a dilemma regarding Clare's professional
competence. Although we were keen to avoid joining in with the
national pastime of denigrating social workers, as popularised by
certain right-leaning newspapers, Clare was funnier the more
insensitive, oblivious, self-absorbed and generally useless she
was. Ultimately, we went for the funny option and so far no social
workers have complained of misrepresentation.
In fact, quite the opposite. Social workers often compliment us on
how accurate the shows are, and are surprised that we have no
background in the profession. This is particularly flattering,
since we have always prided ourselves on writing the shows from a
position of profound ignorance. We have our moles on the inside who
feed us workplace jargon and steer us away from glaring
inaccuracies, but apart from that we have studiously avoided any
kind of research. First, because for the show to have mass appeal
it has to be accessible to an audience without any specialist
knowledge, and secondly because we are too lazy.
People often think it's the actors who make comedies funny, but it
isn't. It's the writing. Having said that, Clare in the Community
has been particularly lucky in its cast. So, grudging thanks to
them. And since we're thanking people we really should mention our
infinitely patient, endlessly resourceful, multi-talented producer
Katie Tyrell.'
Harry Venning & David Ramsden, writers of Clare in the
Community, June 2007
with this adaptation of Harry Venning's Guardian cartoon about a
social worker, Radio 4's found a really funny sitcom.
*The Guardian*
‘...the sharpest script I’ve heard for years’
*The Observer*
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