Good girl Barbara from The Good Life? Now she's the other woman. Scandalous.
Season 2 • Episode 6
LatestLuke's wife finds out about Maxine, but takes the whole thing in her stride.
The Mistress is a British sitcom that aired on BBC2 from 1985 to 1987. Starring Felicity Kendal and Jane Asher, it was written by Carla Lane. The Mistress features Kendal playing Maxine, a young florist who is having an affair with a married man, whose wife was played by Jane Asher. It was disliked by some viewers, who were unhappy at seeing Felicity Kendal, who was best known as the innocent Barbara Good, playing a woman sleeping with someone else's husband.
Acting
Kendal's wide-eyed innocence weaponised for maximum mischief.
Writing
Lane's trademark: women talking honestly about messy lives.
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Kendal was so synonymous with 'Good Life' wholesomeness that viewers wrote angry letters to the BBC. The casting was deliberate sabotage of her image.
Carla Lane specialised in women trapped by respectability—this was her most morally queasy premise, and BBC2 buried it in a late slot.
GB
