and submitted; the BBC decided that it did not want to continue with the project and gave Davies the option of either paying back the money or writing a new series. Since Davies had already spent much of the money he realised there was only one avenue open to him, and A Very Peculiar Practice was subsequently written "quite quickly". In a deliberate case of art imitating life, the final episode of the first series introduces a character named Ron Rust (Joe Melia), a writer who, for reasons that he doesn't quite understand, owes the BBC £17,000 and is trying to write a black comedy about a university to pay the debt. The Ron Rust character also appeared in Davies's A Few Short Journeys of the Heart (an adaptation of his short story collection Dirty Faxes), first shown in the Stages series on BBC2 on 10 August 1994. The theme tune, "We Love You" was written by Dave Greenslade and performed by UK singer, Elkie Brooks. The first series was released on DVD (Region 2) in the UK in 2004. A DVD set of the first and second series, along with A Very Polish Practice, was released in the UK during October 2011. Davies novelised both series in A Very Peculiar Practice (1986, Coronet) and A Very Peculiar Practice: The New Frontier (1988, Methuen). Cast Episodes Series 1 Series 2 Screen One drama : A Very Polish Practice (6 September 1992) References External links British Film Institute Screen Online BBC clips 1986 British television series debuts 1992 British television series endings BBC television dramas 1980s British comedy-drama television series 1990s British comedy-drama television series British comedy-drama television shows Television shows written by Andrew Davies British college television series English-language television shows