''Gypsy Girl'' is a 2001 British television series that ran on

CITV CITV is a British children's morning programming block on ITV2 and formerly a free-to-air channel owned by ITV plc. CITV, then Children's ITV, launched on 3 January 1983 as a late afternoon programming block on the ITV network for children aged ...

Overview

''Gypsy Girl'' began airing in February 2001. Made up of seven episodes, the show is based on Elizabeth Arnold's three-book series consisting of ''The Parsley Parcel'', ''Gold and Silver Water'', and ''A Riot of Red Ribbon''. It centred on a

Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnic groups * Romani people, or Roma, an ethnic group of Indo-Aryan origin ** Romani language, an Indo-Aryan macrolanguage of the Romani communities ** Romanichal, Romani subgroup in the United Kingdom * Romanians (Romanian ...

girl, Freya Boswell (played by Gemma Gregory), and her family, who lived in a typical caravan on the corner of a typical

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

an street. Her great-grandmother was played by

Eleanor Bron Eleanor Bron (born 14 March 1938) is an English stage, film and television actress, and an author. Her film roles include Ahme in the Beatles musical ''Help!'' (1965), the Doctor in '' Alfie'' (1966), Margaret Spencer in '' Bedazzled'' (1967) an ...

. Freya was often called "Gyppo", a derogatory term, by a boy who disliked her. To make the show an accurate representation of Romany life, the show relied on an advisor with Romany expertise to construct the Romany caravans, camp, attire. For her role, Gregory received horse-riding lessons. She debuted as a professional singer, performing the show's title track. Gregory said in an interview, "It was really nerve wracking. I've been acting for ages, so that doesn't worry me, but the singing was something new. I had no experience but it was fantastic to do. The song is wicked as well."

Cast

* Gemma Gregory as Freya Boswell *

as Romany Gran, Freya's great-grandmother * Thomas Jamerson as Tashar, Freya's brother. He is "cool" and "enigmatic". * Gary Webster as Kokko George, Freya's uncle. He is a violin player and "a fun-loving scallywag". * Olivia Winstone as Mary, Freya's friend *

Lloyd Owen Marcus Richard Lloyd Owen (born 14 April 1966) is a British actor. Despite being born in London, he considers himself Welsh due to both his parents being from Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part o ...

as Jack, Emma's husband. Their baby has gone missing. *

Fionnuala Ellwood Fionnuala Ellwood (born 3 July 1964 in Dublin, Ireland) is an actress best known for portraying Lynn Whiteley in the ITV soap ''Emmerdale'' between 1989 and 1994. Early life She attended Wilmslow County Grammar School for Girls. Career Other ...

as Emma, Jack's wife. Their baby has gone missing. *

Leslie Grantham Leslie Michael Grantham (30 April 1947 – 15 June 2018) was an English actor who played "Dirty" Den Watts in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. He was a convicted murderer, having served 10 years for the killing of a West Germany, West German ...

as "a sinister second-hand car salesman"

Reception

In ''The Hill and Beyond'', the authors Alistair D. McGown and Mark J. Doherty praised the series for being an "excellent" show that "harked back to seemingly lost values". They wrote, "Though it was roundly marketed as a British ''Sabrina'', and probably only commissioned in the hope that it would be, the reality was that the stories it told were rather more thoughtful."

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=0277483 2001 British television series debuts 2001 British television series endings ITV children's television shows