''Dandelion Dead'' is a British TV mini-series produced by LWT for ITV that aired in two parts on 6 and 13 February 1994. It tells the true story of

Herbert Rowse Armstrong Herbert Rowse Armstrong TD MA (13 May 1869 – 31 May 1922) was an English solicitor and convicted murderer, the only solicitor in the United Kingdom ever hanged for murder. He was living in Cusop Dingle, Herefordshire, England, and practi ...

, a

solicitor A solicitor is a lawyer who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and enabled to p ...

in the provincial town of

Hay-on-Wye Hay-on-Wye, or simply Hay (; or simply ), is a market town and community (Wales), community in Powys, Wales. With over twenty bookshops, it is often described as a book town, "town of books"; it is both the National Book Town of Wales and the s ...

, Wales, who was convicted and hanged in May 1922 for the murder of his wife and the attempted murder of a fellow solicitor and business rival, Oswald Martin. The series starred

Michael Kitchen Michael Roy Kitchen (born 31 October 1948) is an English actor and television producer, best known for his starring role as Detective Chief Superintendent Christopher Foyle in the ITV drama '' Foyle's War'', which comprised eight series betwe ...

as Major Armstrong,

Sarah Miles Sarah Miles (born 31 December 1941) is a retired English actress. She is known for her roles in films '' The Servant'' (1963), '' Blowup'' (1966), '' Ryan's Daughter'' (1970), '' The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing'' (1973), '' White Mischief'' (19 ...

as Catherine Armstrong,

David Thewlis David Wheeler (born 20 March 1963), better known as David Thewlis (), is an English actor and filmmaker. He has appeared in a variety of genres in both film and television. He has received the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor and nomin ...

as Oswald Martin and Lesley Sharp as Constance, Martin's wife. It was directed by

Mike Hodges Michael Tommy Hodges (29 July 1932 – 17 December 2022) was a British screenwriter, film and television director, playwright and novelist. His films as writer/director include ''Get Carter'' (1971), ''Pulp (1972 film), Pulp'' (1972), ''The Te ...

and won a

BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

in 1995. As well as telling the main story of Major Armstrong's crimes, the series develops the courtship of Martin and his wife and shows the effects of events on Armstrong's children.

Cast

as Major Herbert Rowse Armstrong *

as Catherine Armstrong *

as Oswald Martin * Lesley Sharp as Constance 'Connie' Martin, née Davies *

Peter Vaughan Peter Ewart Ohm (4 April 1923 – 6 December 2016), known professionally as Peter Vaughan, was an English actor known for many supporting roles in British film and television productions. He also acted extensively on stage. Vaughan played Gr ...

as Doctor Hinks *

Diana Quick Diana Marilyn Quick (born 23 November 1946) is an English actress. Early life and family background Quick was born on 23 November 1946 in London, England. She grew up in Dartford, Kent, the third of four children. Her father was Leonard Quic ...

as Marion Glassford-Gale *

Bernard Hepton Francis Bernard Heptonstall (19 October 1925 – 27 July 2018) better known by the stage name Bernard Hepton, was an English actor and theatre director. He is known for his stage work and television roles in teleplays and series. He also appear ...

as Mr. Davies *

Don Henderson Donald Francis Henderson (10 November 1931 – 22 June 1997) was an English actor. He was known for playing both "tough guy" roles and authority figures, and is remembered for his portrayal of detective George Bulman between 1976 and 1987 in ...

as Chief Inspector Crutchett *

Robert Stephens Sir Robert Graham Stephens (14 July 193112 November 1995) was an English actor in the early years of Britain's Royal National Theatre. Early life Stephens was born in Shirehampton, Bristol, in 1931, the eldest of three children of shipyard ...

as Henry Vaughan *

Nicholas Selby Nicholas Selby (born James Ivor Selby, 13 September 1925 – 14 September 2010) was a British film, television and theatre actor. He appeared in more than one hundred television dramas on the BBC and ITV during the course of his career, includ ...

as Sir Bernard Spilsbury *

Roger Lloyd-Pack Roger Anthony Lloyd-Pack (8 February 1944 – 16 January 2014) was a British actor. He is best known for playing Trigger in ''Only Fools and Horses'' from 1981 to 2003, and Owen Newitt in ''The Vicar of Dibley'' from 1994 to 2007. He later star ...

as Phillips

Reception

Ray Loynd, writing for the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'', called the series "full of rich atmosphere, ripe characters and black humor". He noted that "The movie’s real accomplishment is in catching the fabric of a whole town, almost in the manner of a Victorian novel."

References

External links

* {{Mike Hodges 1994 British television series debuts 1994 British television series endings 1990s British drama television series 1990s British television miniseries BAFTA winners (television series) ITV television dramas Television series by ITV Studios London Weekend Television shows British English-language television shows