Touchstone Television's The Golden Girls not only took the United States by storm, it also became a huge hit overseas. One of the biggest markets for the show was in England, where the show counted even the Queen as a fan. It seemed like a no-brainer to make a version of the show catered specifically for the United Kingdom.
Enter the Brighton Belles. Touchstone Television licensed the adaptation to a U.K. television network that adapted the show's existing scripts for British audiences.
Unfortunately for these belles, they had to compete with the real thing. Rather than come up with new situations for their seasoned cast, they merely re-wrote existing scripts. The result was a show that looked like a Senior Center talent show version of a Golden Girls rerun. Even the show's publicity photos looked cheap:
Unlike the American original, this show was canceled after less than one season. The American show still airs in reruns in the U.K. while the Brighton Belles are just a memory in their own country.
