''Christabel'' is a four-part British drama series first shown on

BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matter, incorporating genres such as comedy, drama and ...

between 16 November and 7 December 1988.''Christabel''
BFI Film & TV database It is based on the memoirs of

Christabel Bielenberg Christabel Mary Bielenberg (''née'' Burton, 18 June 1909 – 2 November 2003) was a British writer who was married to a German lawyer, Peter Bielenberg. She described her experiences living in Germany during the Second World War in two books: ...

, an English woman married to a German lawyer during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Her book, ''The Past is Myself'' depicted life in Germany during 1932 - 1945. The screenplay was written by

Dennis Potter Dennis Christopher George Potter (17 May 1935 – 7 June 1994) was an English television dramatist, screenwriter and journalist. He is best known for his BBC television serials '' Pennies from Heaven'' (1978) and '' The Singing Detective'' ...

, and was directed by

Adrian Shergold Adrian Shergold (born 24 March 1948 in Croydon, Surrey) is a British film and television director. Selected filmography *'' Pierrepoint'' (2005) *'' Funny Cow'' (2017) *'' Cordelia'' (2019) *Denmark (2019) Selected television *'' Christabel'' ( ...

. Each episode runs around 65 minutes. It stars

Elizabeth Hurley Elizabeth Jane Hurley (born 10 June 1965) is an English actress and model. Her best-known film roles are Vanessa Kensington in '' Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery'' (1997) and as the Devil in '' Bedazzled'' (2000).Camperdown Works Camperdown Works was a jute works in Dundee, Scotland, which covered around 30 acres and at one point employed almost 6,000 workers. It was for a time the world's largest jute works and was owned by Cox Brothers. History Origins The Cox family w ...

jute mill complex in

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

, which doubled for 1940s

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. Other scenes were filmed in Hungary and Austria.

Synopsis

An Englishwoman's love for a German lawyer is at the heart of one of the most extraordinary stories of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Christabel Burton's aspiration of living in harmony with her husband Peter Bielenberg is shattered when Germany slips into the full horror of the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

regime and war is declared. Life for Christabel and Peter becomes a fight to survive, a struggle to hold on to human decency.

Gibraltar Chronicle The ''Gibraltar Chronicle'' is a national newspaper published in Gibraltar since 1801. It became a daily in 1821. It is Gibraltar's oldest established daily newspaper and the world's second-oldest English language newspaper to have been in pri ...

newspaper; Entertainment Guide section; 13 April 1995; Page 9 In the first episode, as wedding bells peal out across the English countryside, the bride's father is begging her to change her mind. The village congregation is shocked when the bridegroom responds in German. But Christabel insists on making an "impossible decision" – a commitment to married life in a country soon to be at war with her own.

Cast

Home media

A VHS of the series, running 148 minutes, was released in the US by

CBS/Fox Video 20th Century Home Entertainment (previously known as Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, LLC. and also known as 20th Century Studios Home Entertainment) was a home video distribution arm that distributes films produced by 20th Century Stud ...

in 1989. A DVD containing a shortened 2-hour version was released by Guillotine Films in 2004.

References

External links

* 1988 British television series debuts 1988 British television series endings 1980s British drama television series BBC television dramas Television shows written by Dennis Potter 1980s British television miniseries British English-language television shows {{drama-tv-prog-stub