After 'The Cuckoo Waltz' ended its final series in 1981, Granada Television took Diane Keen under their wing again to cast her in an altogether different role, as bright-headed, sparky Daisy Jackson, who becomes the head honcho of a failing newspaper company after its previous.incumbent passes away. Geoffrey Lancashire, who also scripted 'The Cuckoo Waltz', provided the scripts. The role was certainly a break from the norm for the gorgeous Keen, however despite lasting for two series, 'Foxy Lady' failed to sell with its public.
Set in the 1960's, The Ramsden Reminder was once North England's biggest seller, however sales have dropped drastically. In steps Daisy Jackson into a man's world and throws a spanner in the works. To her credit, she brushes off any sexist or misogynistic thoughts or comments from her lacklustre staff and makes a go of it.
Among her workforce are ageing odd job man Acorn Henshaw ( Tom Mennard ), accountant Joe Prince ( Geoffrey Burridge ) who fancies Daisy something rotten, sportswriter Ben Marsh ( Milton Johns ) who has a gambling problem, stuffy arts editor Tancred Taylour ( Alan David ), chain-smoking women's page editor Hector Ross ( an up and coming Gregor Fisher ), grumpy production manager J P Schofield ( 'Dr Who's' Patrick Troughton ) and naive young printing apprentice Owen Buckley ( Steven Pinder ).
Plots would usually revolve around Daisy's attempts to make sure the paper sells, such as getting her staff to check out a seemingly haunted house in which ghost sightings have apparently been reported, Owen becoming infatuated with a shy young girl and Daisy's attempts to frighten off an upper-class twit attempting to buy the company out and make the workforce redundant. To say the plot lines were cliched would be an understatement. 'Foxy Lady' was not very funny. A curate's egg if truth be told.
It was not Diane's fault. She made the most of a role which was certainly destined to shake off her typecasting of dizzy debs or harassed housewives, and the support cast certainly pulled their weight in regards to performances, most especially Gregor Fisher and Steven Pinder. However, the show suffered from less than great scripts, as well as patently obvious canned laughter.
After this show ended, Diane went over to the BBC to do her final sitcom 'You Must Be The Husband' while Gregor Fisher went on to find greater fame in BBC Scotland's 'Naked Video' which would of course later spawn the sitcom 'Rab C. Nesbitt'.
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