Mrs Dale's Diary
| Other names | The Dales (1962–1969) |
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| Genre | Soap opera, drama |
| Running time | 15 minutes |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Language(s) | English |
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| Recording studio | Broadcasting House |
| Original release | 5 January 1948 – 25 April 1969 |
| No. of episodes | 5,431 |
Mrs Dale's Diary (known as The Dales from 1962 to 1969) was the first significant BBC Radio serial drama. It was first broadcast on 5 January 1948 on the BBC Light Programme, later BBC Radio 2, running until 25 April 1969. A new episode was broadcast each weekday afternoon, with a repeat the following morning. The programme revolved around a doctor's wife, the eponymous Mrs Dale, and her life in middle class suburbia with her husband, Dr Dale.
The main scriptwriter for many years was Jonquil Antony, and her first collaborator (under a pseudonym) was Ted Willis, later to create Dixon of Dock Green. Mrs Dale was played by Ellis Powell until she left the show in 1963, and was replaced by Jessie Matthews.
Popular with audiences, it became "a national institution", and the Queen Mother reportedly said of the programme, "It is the only way of knowing what goes on in a middle-class family."