The Rag Trade (1977–1978)

1. S01E01Stay In StrikeSeptember 11, 1977—Fenner lands a contract to supply a German businessman with new garments. Unfortunately he wants to see the workforce in action before he co
2. S01E02The SampleSeptember 18, 1977—Overjoyed at securing an exclusive Italian design, Fenner and Tony are slightly perturbed to find all the instructions are in Italian
3. S01E03Fixing The RateSeptember 25, 1977—Fenner is appalled to find that although productivity is down, pay rates are going up! He tries to institute a Time and Motion study, but th
4. S01E04The Lunch ProblemOctober 2, 1977—Paddy holds a special meeting to discuss the extortionate cost of lunch; the general feeling is that Fenner should pay them a lunch allowanc
5. S01E05The Export OrderOctober 9, 1977—Fenner manages to land an export order to a firm in New York. The catch is that they must be of a certain quality and out the door by 4pm
6. S01E06The Italian LineOctober 16, 1977—Fenner upsets the status quo by bringing in an Italian to supervise a new line of designs. Despite initial misgivings the workforce suddenly
7. S01E07Olive's BabyOctober 23, 1977—Everyone's concerned when Olive turns up late for work - which soon turns to astonishment when the realise she's brought her baby with her
8. S01E08The Wedding DressOctober 30, 1977—Fenner becomes frantic then Mrs. Fenner starts doing stocktaking. Despite her best intentions, it's not long before she and Paddy are at log
9. S01E09The SidelineNovember 6, 1977—A new line of fur garments causes consternation among the workforce - until they figure out they can make toy pandas from the offcuts
10. S01E10The Guvnor's WifeNovember 13, 1977—The girls are up in arms when Mrs. Fenner puts in a special order for a new outfit, and Fenner is caught in the middle when the inevitable r
11. S01E11The New GirlNovember 20, 1977—A new line in negligees prompts Fenner to bring in a new production supervisor and self-styled "business efficiency expert". Her goal - to i
12. S01E12The BetNovember 27, 1977—Gambling fever strikes the workforce when they discover that a horse called Paddy is running that afternoon at Aintree racecourse
13. S01E13The AccidentDecember 11, 1977—When Mabel pricks her finger on a broken needle - and Kathy cuts her finger on the first aid box - Paddy holds Fenner to account for failing
14. S01E14The New BrotherDecember 18, 1977—Fenner employs a new embroiderer to add finesse to some of the designs. It doesn't take long for Paddy to figure out the new recruit is far
15. S01E15Christmas RushDecember 24, 1977—Christmas brings down productivity no end, much to Fenners chagrin. Things get much worse when he realises that he hasn't bought his wife a

Season 1 ranked & reviewed

1. S02E01The Annual BallSeptember 8, 1978—As the annual Garment Traders' Ball approaches, the staff become unruly as they have to hand-stitch a new dress for Mrs. Fenner to show off.
2. S02E02The Leather LineSeptember 15, 1978—Union grumbles continue apace when Fenner tries to get his recalcitrant staff to work on leatherwear. As far as they are concerned, they're
3. S02E03StressSeptember 22, 1978—The fact that the company hasn't made a profit in the last twelve weeks is sending Fenner into a downward spiral of stress and depression. T
4. S02E04A Bad PatchSeptember 29, 1978—Tony's been caught out with a married woman by her husband, much to the amusement of the girls. Their amusement is curtailed when Fenner ann
5. S02E05Come Back, PaddyOctober 6, 1978—Fenner's more uptight than usual when a high profile order is not up to scratch, blaming Paddy's organisational skills. Little does he know
6. S02E06Self-DefenceOctober 13, 1978—Newspaper reports about the increasingly unsafe nature of the streets surrounding the factories are leapt on by Paddy when she insists that
7. S02E07Fenner's FollyOctober 20, 1978—Fenner shocks Paddy by agreeing to an extortionate bonus rate on a new line of dresses for a swanky Chelsea boutique, the buyer for which ju

Season 2 ranked & reviewed