The BAFTA-winning Outside Edge (made by Central for ITV) is a gentle comedy-drama about a sub-league cricket team captained by Roger Dervish (Robert Daws), assisted by his wife Mim (Brenda Blethyn). Their lives become entwined with a married couple who are vastly different. Kevin (Timothy Spall) and Maggie (Josie Lawrence) couldn’t be more different. It’s their shared love of cricket that brings them together.
3 Series / 22 Episodes / 24 March 1994 to 13 February 1996 / Central TV Spoiler-free review
Though proud of her renown for giving the best refreshments in the whole league, Mim isn’t as independent as she thinks when she meets Maggie. But Maggie’s big personality and multitude of DIY projects hide a painful yearning to have a baby.
When he’s not playing cricket, Kevin loves to create a culinary masterpiece, but it pains him to see his wife’s unfulfilled longing and grieves him further when the true reasons are revealed.
Unlike Maggie, Mim’s husband is not attuned to her frustration. All Roger thinks about is cricket. Though she is genuinely fond of the game, his obsession makes Mim invisible to him as a woman. “Love you. Okay. Fair enough.”
The series is based on the 1979 stage play by Richard Harris, expanding on the backstory and sets up arcs for the main and supporting characters.
The supporting cast are served well throughout all three series, attracting high-caliber actors such as Denis Lil, Nigel Pegram, and Michael Jayston. The latter plays a similar role to his not-so-merry-widow in A Bit of a Do.
Regular team fixtures include Alex the foppish and arrogant ‘star batsman’ (played Ben Daniels in Series 1, Chris Lang in Series 2–3), the constantly put-upon Nigel (“There you are, Nige. Not busy are you? Good”), and the always embarrassing Dennis (Lil), who hits on every woman he meets despite his inherent repellency, while failing to notice his wife struggling with menopause until forced to manage her pill-taking schedule!
It’s a very gentle series, with subtle and warm humor throughout, equally comic and bittersweet at times. It ends well, with all the character arcs complete.
Though all three series were released by DD Home Entertainment (the company ceased trading in 2007 and succeeded by Simply Media), I collect the (now mostly deleted) Network DVD titles. Network released a 4-disc set containing Series 1-3, plus the one-off TV play from 1982 starring Prunella Scales, Paul Eddington, and Maureen Lipman.
I found Outside Edge by accident when a friend gave me the Network release of Series 2. I watched two episodes and realized the plot continued a storyline started in the first series. I really liked the humour and gentle feel of the show but knew I’d enjoy it more having watched from the beginning.
Having decided to track down Series 1 & 3 to complete the set (I began by collecting the series’ individual Network releases, so continued in that fashion), it was a real shock to find the Series 1 Network DVD on a market stall. Series 3 was given to me as a Christmas present.
The highlight of the series for me was the feature-length episode between the second and third series, providing some of the series’ biggest laughs and best character moments.
A solid addition to my collection. Outside Edge scores a century for me.
Copyright Martin Gregory 2026
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I have just watched season 1 of outside edge I thought the casting for it was spot on and the characters are very good and believable. I laughed out loud in parts and it’s not often I do that when watching sitcoms. Very enjoyable indeed looking forward to watch the next 2 seasons.
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