Ladies In Charge - Ep 3 (Double Act) (1986)

Ep 3: Double Act. After his wife runs off with another woman to form a new act on the stage, ventriloquist Cosmo Keble calls upon the Ladies Agency to try and persuade her back. Babs, dazzled by the showbiz glamour, agrees to talk to her, but when that fails Casmo has another, somewhat intriguing idea...

Starring Julia Hills, Carol Royle and Julia Swift, with guest stars Gavin Richards, Imelda Staunton, Pam Ferris, Richard Vernon, Diana Fairfax, Graham Chinn, Mavis Walker, Rita Davies, James Garbutt, Vera Jakob and Matylok Gibbs. As mentioned before, this period series is part mystery/part drama, but this particular episode is more the latter, though it is a lighthearted affair. It also has a pre-fame Imelda Staunton, in only her 2nd screen role, while I struggled at first to recognise a slim Pam Ferris, 5 years before achieving fame in The Darling Buds of May.