TV drama
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...
, which aired on
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced t ...
from 1992 to 1993.
Premise
Set in the 1950s in the aftermath of World War II, newlywed couple Alec and Jennifer Ritchie (
Derek Riddell
Derek Riddell (born 11 January 1967) is a Scottish television and theatre actor. He is best known for the portrayal of Dr. Jamie Patterson in the Channel 4 television series ''No Angels''. He has also guest starred in '' Doctor Who'', ''Ugly B ...
and Francesca Hunt)
set up home on a dilapidated farm in the remote Scottish countryside in Perthshire. Life is not easy for these newcomers and their hostile neighbours are
keen to see them fail.
Cast
*
Derek Riddell
Derek Riddell (born 11 January 1967) is a Scottish television and theatre actor. He is best known for the portrayal of Dr. Jamie Patterson in the Channel 4 television series ''No Angels''. He has also guest starred in '' Doctor Who'', ''Ugly B ...
David Robb
David Robb (born 23 August 1947) is a Scottish actor.
Early life
Born in London, the son of David Robb and Elsie Tilley, Robb grew up in Edinburgh and was educated there at the Royal High School, where he played Henry II in a school product ...
as Andrew Menzies
*
Ian Carmichael
Ian Gillett Carmichael, OBE (18 June 1920 – 5 February 2010) was an English actor who worked prolifically on stage, screen and radio in a career spanning 70 years. He found prominence in the films of the Boulting brothers, including ...
as Sir James Menzies
*
Andrew Keir
Andrew Keir (né Buggy, 3 April 19265 October 1997) was a Scottish actor who appeared in a number of films made by Hammer Film Productions in the 1960s. He was also active in television, and especially in the theatre, in a professional career t ...
as Macrae of Balbuie
*
Alison Peebles
Alison Peebles (born 1953) is a Scottish actress, director, and writer in theatre, film, and television. She is a co-founder of Communicado, a Scottish theatre company.
Early life
Peebles trained as a Painter at Edinburgh College of Art.
Career
...
as Pheemie Robertson
*
Kika Mirylees
Kika Mirylees (born Christina Kika Le Fleming Mirylees; 23 September 1953) is a South African-born British actress and councillor. She is best known for her roles as Julie Johnston in '' Bad Girls'', Doc Newton in ''Red Dwarf'' and Hazel Hobbs ...
as Flora McInnes
*
Urbano Barberini
Urbano Barberini Riario Sforza Colonna di Sciarra (born 18 September 1961), best known as Urbano Barberini or sometimes Urbano Barberini Sforza, is an Italian actor. He is also a translator, theater producer and artistic director. He is fluen ...
as Umberto Fabiani
*
Neil McKinven
Neil is a masculine name of Gaelic and Irish origin. The name is an anglicisation of the Irish '' Niall'' which is of disputed derivation. The Irish name may be derived from words meaning "cloud", "passionate", "victory", "honour" or "champion".. ...
David Tennant
David John Tennant ('' né'' McDonald; born 18 April 1971) is a Scottish actor. He rose to fame for his role as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor (2005–2010 and 2013) in the BBC science-fiction TV show '' Doctor Who'', reprising the ...
had a brief appearance in Series 1 episode 'Family Affairs' as Archie the hiker, in what would be one of his earliest of many television roles. Episode director David Blair was so impressed by Tennant's performance that it led to him being awarded his first major TV role as the manic depressive Campbell in the
BBC Scotland
BBC Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: ''BBC Alba'') is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Scotland.
It is one of the four BBC national regions, together with the BBC English Regions, BBC Cymru Wales and BBC Northern Irelan ...
drama series ''
Takin' Over the Asylum
''Takin' Over the Asylum'' is a six-part BBC Scotland television drama about a hospital radio station in a Glasgow psychiatric hospital. The show was written by Donna Franceschild, produced by Chris Parr and directed by David Blair.
The sho ...
'' (1994)
Production
Strathblair was filmed mainly in and around
Blair Atholl
Blair Atholl (from the Scottish Gaelic: ''Blàr Athall'', originally ''Blàr Ath Fhodla'') is a village in Perthshire, Scotland, built about the confluence of the Rivers Tilt and Garry in one of the few areas of flat land in the midst of the Gr ...
, a village in
Perthshire
Perthshire ( locally: ; gd, Siorrachd Pheairt), officially the County of Perth, is a historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the nor ...
,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...
.
During filming of the first series, members of the cast and crew were attacked by a local man who drove through the middle of the set and threw a spanner at a female producer, which resulted in the perpetrator being given an official police warning.
To coincide with the lambing season, filming for the second series commenced in March 1992, two months before the first series aired on
BBC1
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins ...
.
Reception
The first series was not well received by critics and experienced low ratings for a Sunday night prime time show, and despite bringing in a new writing team it was cancelled after the second series.
Merchandise
In 1992
Corgi Toys
Corgi Toys (trademark) is the brand name of a range of die-cast toy vehicles created by Mettoy and currently owned by Hornby Railways, Hornby.Bedford OB Coach and a
Morris J-type
The Morris Commercial J-type is a 10 cwt (0.5 ton) van launched by Morris Commercial in 1949 and produced until 1961. After the formation of the British Motor Corporation in 1952, by the merger of Morris' parent company, the Nuffield Organiz ...
Van - Item model number 97765. The wording on the box read "STRATHBLAIR™ From the BBC television series created by Bill Craig".
Series 1
*Broadcast: 3 May 1992 - 19 July 1992 (10 episodes)
Series 2
*Broadcast: 27 June 1993 - 29 August 1993 (10 episodes)
{, class="wikitable"
, -
! Episode
! Written by
! Director
! Producer
! First aired
, - id="s2ep1" style="text-align:center; background:#addfad;"
, , 1
, , David Ashton
, ,
Ken Hannam
Ken Hannam (12 July 1929 – 16 November 2004) was an Australian film and television director who also worked in British television drama.
Career
Born in St Kilda, Melbourne, the eldest of three boys, Hannam lived in his youth in Sydney and ...
, , Leonard White
, , 27 June 1993
, -
, colspan="5" , Following the disaster at the end of the last series, Alec and Jenny return home. Sir James receives an important telegram at Strathblair House.
, -
, - id="s2ep2" style="text-align:center; background:#addfad;"
, , 2
, , David Ashton
, , Ken Hannam
, , Leonard White
, , 4 July 1993
, -
, colspan="5", Sir James plans some unexpected changes and Andrew returns home to some startling news. Umberto's scheming causes a stir among the girls in the village, and he has a surprise in store for Pheemie.
, -
, - id="s2ep3" style="text-align:center; background:#addfad;"
, , 3
, , Sue Glover
, , Haldane Duncan
, , Leonard White
, , 11 July 1993
, -
, colspan="5", Sir James and Lady Constance prepare to leave for the USA leaving Andrew in charge, but his plans for the future of Strathblair shock and upset Flora. Umberto's flirtations stir up trouble in the village, and there are those who want to be rid of him.
, -
, - id="s2ep4" style="text-align:center; background:#addfad;"
, , 4
, , Sue Glover
, , Haldane Duncan
, , Leonard White
, , 18 July 1993
, -
, colspan="5" , The attack upon Umberto causes much gossip in the village, and Jenny becomes embroiled in the situation.
, -
, - id="s2ep5" style="text-align:center; background:#addfad;"
, , 5
, , Catherine Czerkawska
, , David Andrews
, , Leonard White
, , 25 July 1993
, -
, colspan="5" , Jenny's parents visit for the first time and Alec finds himself on better terms with his father-in-law.
, -
, - id="s2ep6" style="text-align:center; background:#addfad;"
, , 6
, , Catherine Czerkawska
, , David Andrews
, , Leonard White
, , 1 August 1993
, -
, colspan="5" , Andrew and Flora discover how close they came to being the victims of a robbery, and they have to face some unwelcome facts.
, -
, - id="s2ep7" style="text-align:center; background:#addfad;"
, , 7
, , Donald Campbell
, , Brian Parker
, , Leonard White
, , 8 August 1993
, -
, colspan="5" , Andrew's plans for a Festival Day at Strathblair, but not everyone is keen on the idea. Meanwhile, Macrae, Robert and Pheemie set up their own fringe exhibition. Later, Andrew has a conflict with the local MP.
, -
, - id="s2ep8" style="text-align:center; background:#addfad;"
, , 8
, , Donald Campbell
, , Brian Parker
, , Leonard White
, , 15 August 1993
, -
, colspan="5" , Andrew runs an election campaign but receives a rough reception at a public meeting in the village, and Sir James is not best pleased. Robert meets Tansy's family and is in for a big surprise.
, -
, - id="s2ep9" style="text-align:center; background:#addfad;"
, , 9
, , Allan Prior
, , Sarah Harding
, , Leonard White
, , 22 August 1993
, -
, colspan="5" , Alec has big ideas for the future but Jenny does not share his enthusiasm. It's the day of reckoning for Andrew as the polls open in the local election.
, -
, - id="s2ep10" style="text-align:center; background:#addfad;"
, , 10
, , Allan Prior
, , Sarah Harding
, , Leonard White
, , 29 August 1993
, -
, colspan="5" , The final episode. Dreams are fulfilled and ghosts are laid to rest in Strathblair.
, -
IMDb
IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, p ...