Spend, Spend, Spend (play)

Spend, Spend, Spend is an episode of the BBC's Play for Today anthology series first transmitted 15 March 1977 on BBC1, recounting the life of football pools winner Viv Nicholson.

Written by Jack Rosenthal it is based on the book of the same name by Nicholson and Stephen Smith and recounts Nicholson's life story from the 1950s to the early 1970s in a non-linear fashion.

Rosenthal was a colleague of the PR man who, on behalf of Littlewoods Pools, persuaded Nicholson to allow publicity for her pools win. He wrote in his autobiography: "From that day on, I followed her wild, seemingly stupid adventures in the papers - and believed every snide, snooty, biased word the relentless publicity said. All adding up to one word - that she was a cow." Being given Nicholson's book by director John Goldschmidt caused Rosenthal to reassess his attitude and "become a fan" eager to put across an explanation of her behaviour.

The production won the British Academy Best Play Award and Royal Television Society's Writer's Award 1977. A shortened version - running to 76 minutes - was screened by BBC Four in 2003. The work was released on DVD by Acorn media in 2011, alongside other works by Rosenthal broadcast by the BBC.

Spend Spend Spend

Spend Spend Spend is a musical with a book and lyrics by Steve Brown and Justin Greene and music by Brown.

In 1961, Yorkshire housewife Viv Nicholson won £152,319 in the football pools. When a reporter asked her what she planned to do with her new fortune, she replied, "I'm going to spend, spend, spend!," which is exactly what she did. Her rags-to-riches-to-rags-again story takes her through five husbands, expensive sports cars, fur coats, and jewelry, a battle with alcohol, and bankruptcy as, unable to cope with her new-found wealth and fame, she rapidly spirals downward.

Spend Spend Spend premiered in 1998 at the West Yorkshire Playhouse and won the Barclays Theatre Award for Best Musical of the Year.The production starred Rosie Ashe and Nigel Richards. After a week of previews, the West End production, directed by Jeremy Sams and choreographed by Craig Revel Horwood, opened on October 12, 1999 at the Piccadilly Theatre, where it ran until August 5, 2000. The original cast included Barbara Dickson, Steven Houghton, and Rachel Leskovac. The original London production was arranged by the Musical Director, Dane Preece.