BBC’s Driving School, which launched in 1997, followed learner drivers around Bristol and South Wales and made a star of contestant Maureen Rees
Driiving School’s Maureen Rees and her husband Dave(Image: BBC)
It was the television docusoap which captured the nation’s imagination well before ‘reality TV’ became a household phrase through early noughties programmes such as Big Brother, Popstars and Survivor.
Yet the BBC’s Driving School undoubtedly pioneered the trend for shows documenting real-life situations and transformed one of its participants into a household name.
Debuting on the BBC in 1997, Driving School was a fly-on-the-wall documentary following a group of learner drivers across Bristol and South Wales. Despite being produced on a modest budget yet broadcast during peak viewing hours, it created one of Britain’s first reality television personalities in Maureen Rees.
The series was devised and directed by British film and documentary maker Francesca Joseph and featured narration by Quentin Willson, who subsequently presented the comparable Britain’s Worst Driver.
A quarter of a century since the series first appeared, all six episodes have been made available on BBC iPlayer and viewers can still watch these 1990s classics on the streaming service, reports the Mirror.
Maureen was a fan favourite(Image: Carlton Television)
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Critics on IMDb have been hailing Driving School as “hilarious” and a “milestone” in television. One commented: “It’s largely forgotten now but this series marked a change in TV documentaries.
“It was conceived as a simple documentary about the trials and tribulations of teaching people to drive but as the footage came in it became apparent that the stars of the show were the learners not the instructors. Maureen Reese (sic) rapidly became the pupil that everyone tuned in to see. Each week we wanted to see what danger she would encounter.”
They went on to describe it as: “A small milestone in the story of TV.”
A further viewer recalled: “Doesn’t anybody remember this documentary? It was hilarious! In fact, most of it doesn’t even stick in my mind but I remember Maureen Rees as the mad welsh woman always arguing with her husband and nearly decapitating everyone else on the road. Plus, she failed her driving test about 8 times! It really was a good watch.”
The programme’s popularity spawned a four-part celebrity spin-off, produced in 2003 in support of Comic Relief. Hosted by Mel Giedroyc, the celebrity line-up featured Pop Idol runner-up Gareth Gates, television stalwart Paul O’Grady, EastEnders actress Natalie Cassidy and Big Brother icon Jade Goody. Their results were revealed live during the Red Nose Day telethon. Not one of them had passed.
Jade Goody appeared in Celebrity Driving School(Image: Channel 4)
Meanwhile, Cardiff-born Maureen, now 84, went on to forge a successful television career and even ventured into the music world with a pop single. She fronted the short-lived Really Useful Show, in which she tackled car maintenance, made a cameo as herself in the sitcom Barbara, and crossed the Atlantic to feature on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. In 2001, she took on the role of a chapel woman in the coming-of-age Welsh film Very Annie Mary.
In 2004, she featured in the Channel 5 series Back to Reality, a programme reuniting former reality TV personalities. She made it all the way to the final day, finishing as runner-up to Princess Diana’s former lover James Hewitt.
Maureen also cut a single, a rendition of Madness’ Driving in My Car, which climbed to number 49 in the UK Singles Chart. The accompanying video showcased her behind the wheel of Betsy, her powder-blue 1990 Lada Riva estate.
Driving School is available to stream on BBC iPlayer
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