The death of David Bowie cast a shadow over 2016 but it wasn't the only gone-too-soon death of that year. Victoria Wood died on April 20. I remember receiving an embargo'd press release that morning. It may have been the first time i heard about a significant death via email. Ten years on, Becoming Victoria Wood reminds us what a great talent we lost. Wood was only 62. One can only wonder at what masterpieces she might have delivered in her sixties.

 

This documentary, directed by Catherine Abbott, takes the familiar format of scrolling through her career. There are some rarely seen early clips, possibly the very first recording of Wood in action and also  readings from her writing. The clips pretty much speak for themselves. From Acorn Antiques to the her record breaking Albert Hall stand-up run, everything Wood did seemed to break down barriers.

 

There is also the mandatory biographical background. Her father dreamt of being a playwright and was largely absent (at work), while her mother was not, according to this film, the most maternal of women (mention of this is juxtposed with her famous Channel swimming sketch, the fictional parents not even seeing their daughter off at Dover). Wood might have been loved but she also appears to have been neglected as a child, spending much of her time in her bedroom with a piano and a TV. In retrospect perhaps good training. 

 

Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders chip in to underline how Wood paved the way for them. But it wasn't an easy path to pave. She might have been a genius but she was shy and didn't fit in. At drama school she missed out on being cast in Joe Orton's Loot but was allowed to play songs before during and after the play. She duly stole the show.

 

There were fallow years though and things only started to take off in the eighties. Support slots with trailblazing pre-alternative comics John Dowie and Jasper Carrot helped her to hone her stage craft. Gradually she started to talk between the songs, finding the funny from a female perspective, light years away from the misogynistic humour of Bernard Manning, as a clip shows.

 

And after some faltering steps TV latched on, ITV failed to get the formula right with Wood and Walters, but in 1985 on BBC2 she became the first female comedian to front her own show with As Seen on TV. The rest is a run of success after success. Wood showed she had depth and could act and direct as well as make the nation laugh.

 

There are a few gaps here. It's a shame there are no new interviews with Julie Walters or Celia Imrie (or token bloke Duncan Preston), but Maxine Peake sings her praises and there are lots of insightful interviews with college friends who shed light on pre-fame self-conscious Wood. Forget Low, Heroes and Lodger, how about dinnerladies, Acorn Antiques the Musical and Housewife 49?