''Weavers Green'' is a British television

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

, made in 1966 for ITV by Anglia Television. It was created based on an idea by Dick Joice. It was the first rural soap opera. The series was a bi-weekly diary revolving around two veterinary surgeons played by Grant Taylor and

Megs Jenkins Muguette Mary "Megs" Jenkins (21 April 1917 – 5 October 1998) was an English character actress who appeared in United Kingdom, British films and television programmes. Life and career Jenkins was born in Birkenhead, Cheshire, the daughter of ...

. It dealt with life in a small country town and provided an early TV role for Kate O'Mara as a student vet, a far cry from her later TV roles. 50 half hour episodes were produced. The first 30 were written by Peter Lambda and his wife Betty Paul who were succeeded by brothers

Troy Troy (/; ; ) or Ilion (; ) was an ancient city located in present-day Hisarlik, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Greek mythology, Greek myth of the Trojan War. The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destina ...

and Ian Kennedy Martin. Its budget was £500,000. The first national broadcast was on 7 April 1966 although was transmitted at different times in different regions. The village of Heydon, north of Reepham, Norfolk was used for the main outside filming, and

County School railway station County School railway station is on the Mid-Norfolk Railway in Norfolk, England; it will serve the villages of North Elmham and Guist once services resume. It is 17 miles 40 chains (28 km) down the line from and is the northernmost station ...

was also used for some scenes. It was notable for being one of the first television programmes to be shot on location using

videotape Videotape is magnetic tape used for storing video and usually Sound recording and reproduction, sound in addition. Information stored can be in the form of either an analog signal, analog or Digital signal (signal processing), digital signal. V ...

and

outside broadcast Outside or Outsides may refer to: * Wilderness Books and magazines * ''Outside'', a book by Marguerite Duras * Outside (magazine), ''Outside'' (magazine), an outdoors magazine Film, theatre and TV * Outside TV (formerly RSN Television), a televi ...

equipment, rather than film, as had usually been the case for non-studio shooting until this point. Additional cast: Eric Flynn, Georgina Ward, Richard Coleman, Susan Field, Vanessa Forsyth, John Glyn-Jones,

Maurice Kaufmann Maurice Harington Kaufmann (29 June 1927 – 21 September 1997) was a British actor of stage, film and television, who specialised in whodunits and horror films, from 1954 to 1981, when he retired. Personal life He was married to Honor Blackm ...

, Marjie Lawrence, John Moulder Brown, Pat Nye,

Wendy Richard Wendy Richard (born Wendy Emerton; 20 July 1943 – 26 February 2009) was an English actress, best known for her television roles as Miss Shirley Brahms on the BBC sitcom ''Are You Being Served?'' from 1972 to 1985, and Pauline Fowler on the ...

, Gerald Young, Brian Cant,

Edward Underdown Charles Edward Underdown (3 December 190815 December 1989) was an English theatre, cinema and television actor. Early Life Underdown was the son of Harry Charles Baillie Underdown and Rachel Elizabeth Orr. Born in London, he was educated at Et ...

, Susan George. Unlike many ITV series of the 1960s, the series survives intact in the archives except for the untransmitted pilots.

References

External links

*
''Weavers Green''
at the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

'
Screenonline
{{Soap operas in the United Kingdom 1966 British television series debuts 1966 British television series endings 1960s British television soap operas British television soap operas ITV soap operas Television series by ITV Studios Television shows produced by Anglia Television Black-and-white British television shows British English-language television shows