Jam & Jerusalem (also known as Clatterford in the United States) is a British sitcom that aired on BBC One from 2006 to 2009. Written by Jennifer Saunders and Abigail Wilson, it starred Sue Johnston, with an ensemble cast including Sally Phillips, Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French, Rosie Cavaliero, Patrick Barlow, Joanna Lumley, Maggie Steed, Pauline McLynn, David Mitchell, Salima Saxton, and Doreen Mantle. The show centred on a Women's Guild in a fictional small West Country town called Clatterford St. Mary. It first aired on 24 November 2006, and the second series began airing on 1 January 2008 with a 40-minute special, finishing on 1 February 2008. The third series was aired as three one-hour specials, and began its broadcast on BBC One on 9 August 2009.

Plot

Jam & Jerusalem is set in the small West Country town of Clatterford St. Mary and is based around Sal, a local practice nurse. The surgery's indiscreet Irish receptionist, Tip, is also her best friend, and both are at the centre of community life. Despite this, Sal is not a member of her local Women's Guild, but after the death of her husband, the local GP, and the loss of her job, she soon joins. Tip is married to a farmer, Colin. The chairwoman of the Women's Guild is Eileen Pike, who always wears her chains of office. Other members include lollipop lady Queenie, elderly church organist Delilah Stagg, and Rosie, a cleaner who has an angry and rude alter ego called Margaret. Delilah is absent from the second series except a brief appearance in the first episode. Wealthy Caroline and Susie are slightly separate from the rest of the Guild. Sal's family consists of James, her son, and his wife, Yasmeen. Sal's daughter, Tash, has a son of her own, Raph, and she has a boyfriend Marcus until the end of the second series. Tash's friend Samuel "Spike" Pike, a postman, is a fellow hippie who becomes her husband in the final episode of Series Two.

Production

The first episode of Jam & Jerusalem was recorded in Autumn 2005 as a pilot (not broadcast at the time) and led to the BBC commissioning the rest of the six-part series and a Christmas special, which were filmed in Autumn 2006. The second series was filmed in Autumn 2007, and the third beginning in April 2009. The show was filmed in North Tawton, Devon, on nearby Dartmoor, and in Staines. The first two series were a co-production of the BBC and Saunders & French Productions in association with BBC America; the third was solely a BBC production. Saunders, who had moved to Devon in 1999, created the show out of frustration at stereotypical portrayals of Devonians on television, as well as a desire to work with Johnston. Saunders wrote the pilot alone, but co-wrote the rest of the show with her longtime personal assistant, Abigail "Abi" Wilson. Wilson was credited for "additional material" for episodes 2–6, then credited alongside Saunders beginning with the Christmas special. The programme was one of a group of shows recorded in the then-new High-Definition format for a trial run in November 2006 on the BBC. The theme tune is a cover of The Kinks' "The Village Green Preservation Society" performed by Kate Rusby, whose songs are also used as incidental music, and who wrote the show's score with her longtime collaborator John McCusker. Jam & Jerusalem has no laugh track and is not recorded before a studio audience. The title phrase has traditionally been associated with the Women's Institute in England and Wales, which is popularly supposed to devote much time to the making of jam, and for whom the hymn "Jerusalem" is an unofficial anthem. Saunders' real life daughters, Ella, Beattie, and Freya Edmondson, all appear in the show: Ella plays a folk singer, whilst Beattie and Freya appear as the daughters of Saunders' character, Caroline, also respectively named Beattie and Freya. In November 2009, Pauline McLynn announced on her blog that Jam & Jerusalem would not be returning for a fourth series. She later stated that it was the decision of the BBC and not Jennifer Saunders. Saunders later lamented the show's cancellation despite its improving ratings, noting that the cast had offered to take pay cuts for a fourth series, and attributed the cancellation to "some twat in a meeting".

Cast

Characters

Episodes

Series 1 (2006)

Series 2 (2008)

Series 3 (2009)

Other countries

The first series of Jam & Jerusalem was broadcast on BBC America in the United States. The first series was screened in Australia, starting in December 2007 on the ABC. In late 2007, the show began to air in Canada on BBC Canada, and in India on BBC Entertainment.

Home media

The first series and 2006 Christmas Special of Jam & Jerusalem were released in the United States (Region 1) as Clatterford: Season 1, on 8 May 2007. The first series was released in the United Kingdom (Region 2) on 21 January 2008 and in Australia (Region 4) on 3 January 2008. The Complete Series 2 was released on DVD in the UK on 3 August 2009, and 1 September 2009 in the US. The Complete Series 3 was released on DVD in the UK on 2 August 2010, alongside the Complete Series 1–3.