The Darling Buds of May ( Rolls-Royce 20 Park Ward Landaulette ) 1926
The Darling Buds of May
The Darling Buds of May is a British comedy drama first broadcast between 7 April 1991 and 4 April 1993. It is an adaptation of H. E. Bates’ novel The Darling Buds of May, published in 1958, and its sequels.
Theme Tune
The series’ music producer Pip Burley wrote the title theme, “Perfick!”. He had submitted the piece anonymously, having deemed the submissions received from a shortlist of composers missed the point of the essential romanticism of the show. Although it also featured lyrics, drawn from the words used in the novels, the theme music for the series did not feature them. The song with lyrics was later sung by David Jason for the radio adaptation of the last book in the Larkin series, A Little of What You Fancy.
Cast
David Jason … Pop Larkin20 episodes, 1991-1993
Pam Ferris … Ma Larkin20 episodes, 1991-1993
Stephanie Ralph … Victoria19 episodes, 1991-1993
Philip Franks … Charley / …18 episodes, 1991-1993
Catherine Zeta-Jones … Mariette18 episodes, 1991-1993
Christina Giles … Petunia18 episodes, 1991-1993
Katherine Giles … Zinnia18 episodes, 1991-1993
Rachel Bell … Edith Pilchester16 episodes, 1991-1993
Ross Marriott … Oscar9 episodes, 1991-1993
Ian Tucker … Montgomery13 episodes, 1991-1992
Abigail Rokison … Primrose12 episodes, 1991-1993
Moray Watson … Brigadier11 episodes, 1991-1993
Trivia
In the books upon which the TV-series is based, Ma and Pa Larkin had another child after Oscar; a girl called Phyllida.
The TV series was filmed at Pluckley, Kent and nearby locations.The farm used known as Buss Farm and more recently ‘Darling Buds Farm’ hosts an annual car classic car show. Little filming was done inside the farmhouse, the interiors having been shot in a studio but visitors are able to see all the external locations used around the grounds during that day. Scenes shot in the former Wennington School in Yorkshire were included.
The Rolls-Royce Twenty built between 1922 and 1929 was Rolls-Royce’s ‘small car’ for the 1920s and was produced alongside the 40/50 Silver Ghost and Phantom. It was intended to appeal to owner drivers but many were sold to customers with chauffeurs.
The key characters in the show, based on Bates’ first novel, are Sidney Charles ‘Pop’ Larkin (David Jason), Florence ‘Ma’ Larkin (Pam Ferris), who are unmarried, their eldest daughter Mariette and tax collector Cedric Charlton (Philip Franks), who is renamed Charley by the Larkins. Charley arrives at the beginning of the first episode to get Pop Larkin to fill in his tax forms. He is distracted when he falls in love with Mariette Larkin at first sight, and the Larkins distract him further by attempting to teach him to play crib and getting him drunk. In spite of a hangover, the next day, he becomes captivated by the idyllic country life led by the Larkins, and ends up a member of the family.
Trivia
‘The darling buds of May’ is from Shakespeare’s sonnet 18: Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May. And summer’s lease hath all too short a date.
Quote
[repeated line]
Sidney Charles ‘Pop’ Larkin: Sounds perfick.
[repeated line]
Sidney Charles ‘Pop’ Larkin: This calls for a cocktail!
Trivia
In the books upon which the TV-series is based, Ma and Pa Larkin had another child after Oscar; a girl called Phyllida.
Trivia
David Jason put on weight as Pop Larkin because of all the food in the show; bread and ham, cheese, pickled onions, roast dinners, chocolate, etc. It was meant to show the Larkin family’s generous spirit and carefree love of life. There were also fried breakfasts cooked fresh on the set on a little stove. The set constantly hummed with the smell of frying bacon, which made the crew drool with anticipation. One day on the set, the shooting schedule meant Jason sat down to breakfast five times, which meant it was piled with bacon and eggs. Jason asked if he could skip the fry-ups, so they switched to kippers, which was just as bad. The extra weight he put on meant he couldn’t wear a dinner jacket to that year’s BAFTA’s that fit the year before. He claimed he looked like Hardy wearing something belonging to Laurel. He had to go on a few months of dieting to regain his former, “sylph-like” weight.
Info
| No. of series | 3 |
|---|---|
| No. of episodes | 20 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 50 minutes approx. |
| Production companies | Excelsior Productions Yorkshire Television |
| Distributor | ITV Studios |
| Release | |
| Original network | ITV |
| Picture format | 4:3 |
| Original release | 7 April 1991 – 4 April 1993 |
Trivia
David Jason received two awards at the British Television Awards. He got the awards for ‘Britain’s Best Actor’ and ‘Britain’s Best Comedy Actor’.
QUIZ 1
Who is the famous actress who plays Mariette ,Larkins daughter ?
A. Kate Winslet
B. Catherine Zeta-Jones
C. Stephanie Beacham
D. Penelope Keith
Press for Answer
B. Catherine Zeta-Jones
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QUIZ 2
David Jason plays Pop Larkin in the darling buds of May. Which of these did he NOT Work in ?
A. Danger Mouse
B. Open all Hours
C. Dads Army
D. A Bit of a Do
Press for Answer
C. Dads Army
Scroll Down for More
QUIZ 1
Who is the famous actress who plays Mariette ,Larkins daughter ?
A. Kate Winslet
B. Catherine Zeta-Jones
C. Stephanie Beacham
D. Penelope Keith
Kate Elizabeth Winslet, CBE (born 5 October 1975), is an English actress and singer. She was the youngest person to acquire six Academy Award nominations, and won the Academy Award for Best Actress for The Reader (2008). She has won awards from the Screen Actors Guild, British Academy of Film and Television Arts, and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association .
Catherine Zeta-Jones CBE born Catherine Zeta Jones; 25 September 1969) is a Welsh actress. She began her career on stage at an early age. After starring in a number of British and American television films and small roles in films, which included The Darling Buds of May from 1991 until 1993, she came to prominence with roles in Hollywood movies including the action film The Mask of Zorro (1998) and the crime thriller film Entrapment (1999). Her breakthrough role was in the film Traffic (2000), for which she earned her first Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture. She is Married to the Star Michael Douglas.
Stephanie Beacham (born 28 February 1947) is an English television, radio, film and theatre actress. After first appearing on British television during the late 1960s, she began appearing in films in 1970, most prominently in 1971\’s The Nightcomers opposite Marlon Brando. She became well-known on British television in the BBC series Tenko (1981–82) and the ITV series Connie (1985), before going on to play Sable Colby in the U.S. television series The Colbys (1985–87) and in the final season of Dynasty (1988–89)
Dame Penelope Keith, DBE, DL (born Penelope Anne Constance Hatfield; born 2 April 1940) is an English actress, best known for her roles in the British sitcoms The Good Life and To the Manor Born.
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- Kate Winslet
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- Catherine Zeta-Jones
-
- Stephanie Beacham
-
- Penelope Keith
QUIZ 2
David Jason plays Pop Larkin in the darling buds of May. Which of these did he NOT Appear in ?
A. Danger Mouse
B. Open all Hours
C. Dads Army
D. A Bit of a Do
Danger Mouse is a British children’s animated television series which was produced by Cosgrove Hall Films for Thames Television. It features the eponymous Danger Mouse, an English mouse who works as a secret agent. The show is a loose parody of British spy fiction, particularly James Bond and the Danger Man series starring Patrick McGoohan. The show originally ran in the United Kingdom from 28 September 1981 to 19 March 1992. In the English-language version, the titular hero was voiced by David Jason. The show returned to the CBBC channel in 2015.
Open All Hours is a BBC television sitcom created and written by Roy Clarke for the BBC. It ran for 26 episodes in four series, which premiered in 1976, 1981, 1982 and 1985. The programme developed from a television pilot broadcast in Ronnie Barker’s comedy anthology series, Seven of One (1973). Open All Hours ranked eighth in the 2004 Britain’s Best Sitcom poll. A sequel, entitled Still Open All Hours, was created in 2013.
Dad’s Army is a BBC television sitcom about the Home Guard during the Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft and broadcast on BBC television from 1968 to 1977. The sitcom ran for 9 series and 80 episodes in total, plus a radio version based on the television scripts, a feature film and a stage show. The series regularly gained audiences of 18 million viewers and is still repeated worldwide.
David Jason was considered for the role of Corporal Jones in the BBC series Dad’s Army (1968), which eventually went to Clive Dunn.
A Bit of a Do is a British comedy drama series based on the books by David Nobbs. The show starred David Jason and Gwen Taylor. It was produced by Yorkshire Television for two series and aired on the ITV network from 13 January to 1 December 1989.
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- Danger Mouse
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- Open all Hours
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- Dads Army
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- A Bit of a Do
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