Little Women (1970 TV series)

Little Women was a BBC television series in 1970, based on the well-known novel of the same name.

It was the third BBC adaptation of the novel. It was shown on the Sunday tea-time slot on BBC1, where the BBC often showed fairly faithful adaptations of classic novels aimed at a family audience. It consisted of nine episodes.

It is not one of the better-remembered adaptations of Little Women, possibly because it was made on a relatively low budget and nearly all shot in the studio. There were also comments about the actresses playing the March sisters being too old for the part, and some of the cast struggling with an American accent. However it did have a few merits e.g. the character of Laurie was more developed than in some versions. The script may have stuck to the original novel more closely than some adaptations e.g. by showing the March sisters often quarrelling (this was discussed in the letters page of the Radio Times).

Angela Down played Jo, and Patrick Troughton played the father.