SOUTH RIDING GOES EAST – BBC 1, SUNDAY, 9PM (16/02/2011)
Film and television drama based in Yorkshire traditionally brings to mind stately homes set against the backdrop of rugged moors or rolling dales. South Riding, a new period drama set to debut on BBC 1 this weekend, showcases the less explored territory of the East Yorkshire Coast, with the panoramic vistas providing a stunning backdrop to the cast, led by the equally visually engaging Anna Maxwell Martin (pictured left) and David Morrissey.
Adapted for the screen by Andrew Davies (Bleak House, Sense And Sensibility, Little Dorrit), South Riding is based on the novels of forward thinking Yorkshire writer Winifred Holtby (1898 – 1935). Described as ‘a rich portrait of a Yorkshire community in the thirties that carries surprising and refreshing echoes of our own time’. Alongside the East Yorkshire Coast, the three-part drama filmed at a range of locations across the region, including Bradford, Leeds, Harrogate, York and Craven District last summer, with Screen Yorkshire providing locations and crewing support.
Past and present collide when Sarah Burton (Anna Maxwell Martin) returns to the South Riding in the aftermath of the First World War and clashes with a handsome yet haunted gentleman farmer (David Morrissey). But Carne is a man haunted by love, and he has spent most of the farm's income over the past 20 years trying to wipe out the guilt he still feels for the woman he believes he destroyed. Their story is only one strand of a rich skein full of humour, pathos and tragedy, which tells the story of a small town community instantly recognisable to any age and in any part of the country.
A young actress from Bradford, Charlie Clark (pictured on the bicycle above), stars as poverty stricken Lydia Holly, a 14-year-old girl with a difficult home life whose education is in jeopardy when her mother dies and she slips through society's safety net. Shaun Dooley is Lydia's feckless father, Mr Holly; Miss Sigglesthwaite (Brid Brennan) is the incompetent science mistress of the high school who struggles to instil order over her pupils; Midge Carne (Katherine McGolpin), is the delicate and troubled daughter of Robert and his ill-starred first wife; Councillor Huggins (John Henshaw), by turns noble and ludicrous, is a methodist preacher much troubled by lustful thoughts who becomes embroiled in a game of political corruption way beyond his understanding; Alderman Mrs Beddows (Penelope Wilton), is the county's first woman Alderman whose sensible and competent demeanour belies a girlish heart that has inconveniently fallen in love with an unsuitable man; and Joe Astell (Douglas Henshall), is the Riding's only socialist councillor and rival to Carne for Sarah's affections.
Writer Andrew Davies says: "What appealed to me most about South Riding is how fresh and relevant it feels, even though it was written and set in the Thirties. It's a terrific love story but it's also a portrait of a whole community in turmoil, with the country in recession, and bitter struggles between the advocates of change, like our heroine Sarah the new forward-thinking headmistress, and the forces of conservatism embodied in Robert Carne. It's also full of rich comedy, with some wonderful minor characters, splendidly cast. I feel as if we've rediscovered a forgotten masterpiece."
Look out for the following locations...
Bridlington (Royal Princes Parade and North beach) East Yorkshire
Skipsea, East Yorkshire
Sunk Island, East Yorkshire
Hornsea, East Yorkshire
Rise Hall, East Yorkshire
Harewood Estate, Leeds
Morley Town Hall, Leeds
Garden Gate Pub, Leeds
Saltaire Village, Bradford
Salts Mill, Bradford
Keighley Town Hall, Bradford
Connaught Rooms, Bradford
University Of York
Gledstone Hall, Near Skipton
Harrogate
Chris Hordley, Production Liaison Manager at Screen Yorkshire says: ‘‘South Riding is a beautiful, engaging drama that has Yorkshire right at its heart. We’ve become accustomed to seeing the moors and dales on our screens, particularly in literary adaptations. The East Yorkshire coast may not be as familiar to viewers, but it’s equally as beguiling and its really refreshing to see Yorkshire from a different perspective. Combined with the urban locations featured across North and West Yorkshire, South Riding really showcases the versatility of Yorkshire as a location for feature film and television drama.’’
The first production to come out of BBC Drama Production North for BBC One, South Riding is produced by Lisa Osborne (Little Dorrit), the director is Diarmuid Lawrence (Desperate Romantics, Little Dorrit, Emma, Anglo-Saxon Attitudes) and the executive producers are Anne Pivcevic (Sense And Sensibility, Little Dorrit, Waking The Dead) and Hilary Martin (Sense Of A Sexual Nature, No Angels).
South Riding, which was previously adapted for a mammoth 13 part television series in 1974, debuts on BBC 1 on Sunday 20th February at 9pm. For more about South Riding, including behind the scenes footage, visit the programmes official web page: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00y5gm3
