Blott on the Landscape | |
---|---|
Genre | Comedy drama |
Based on | Blott on the Landscape by Tom Sharpe |
Written by | Malcolm Bradbury |
Directed by | Roger Bamford |
Starring | George Cole Geraldine James Julia McKenzie David Suchet |
Composer | David Mackay |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Original language | English |
No. of series | 1 |
No. of episodes | 6 |
Production | |
Executive producer | Brian Eastman |
Producers | Evgeny Gridneff Sue Whatmough |
Running time | 53 minutes per episode |
Production companies | BBC Picture Partnership Productions |
Original release | |
Network | BBC2 |
Release | 6 February – 13 March 1985 |
Blott on the Landscape is a 1985 BBC TV series, adapted by Malcolm Bradbury from the 1975 Tom Sharpe novel of the same name. It was broadcast on BBC2 in six episodes of 50 minutes each between 6 February and 13 March 1985.
Sir Giles Lynchwood was played by George Cole, with Geraldine James as Lady Maud, Julia McKenzie as Mrs Forthby, David Suchet as Blott, Paul Brooke as Mr Hoskins, Clare Grogan as the receptionist at the Handyman Arms hotel, Simon Cadell as Mr Dundridge, Geoffrey Chater as the Government Minister, Jeremy Clyde as his private secretary Densher and Geoffrey Bayldon as local solicitor Mr Ganglion.
Roger Bamford directed and the producer was Evgeny Gridneff. The music was composed by David McKay. The title music, and much of the incidental music, is notable for its faithful portrayal of a brass band, when most instruments were imitated by multivocalist Viv Fisher. [1]
The series was filmed mainly in the Ludlow area of south Shropshire and north Herefordshire.
Handyman Hall was filmed at Stanage Park, near Heartsease, Powys, a few miles west of Ludlow. The town of Ludlow stood in for the fictitious town of Worford, with a number of pubs and other buildings used there, though the Town Hall used as the courthouse was demolished in 1986. [2] Deddington in Oxfordshire was the filming location for the village of Guildstead Carbonell, where two mock buildings were built in the market place, one of which was demolished in the show. The Unicorn public house was renamed for the show The Royal George. [3] Oxfordshire brewery Hook Norton, in the village of the same name, served as the Handyman brewery where Blott obtains copious supplies of strong ale for the motorway workers. It was a drunk, played by Jimmy Nail, who 'demolished' Guilstead Carbonell.
The Lodge, where Blott lives, was built on land at Blaise Castle Estate near Bristol. Sir Giles is seen drawing the proposed motorway route on his Ordnance Survey road atlas - the page is that of south Shropshire/Herefordshire, but with a few minor amendments made showing names of places used in the book and TV series (for instance, "Worford"- a cross between Worcester and Hereford - instead of "Ludlow"). The maps in the town planning offices show Ludlow and the South Shropshire district, and the map shown at the planning inquiry shows the north Herefordshire/south Shropshire area.
In the TV version, a series of flashbacks provides glimpses of Blott's past. Because the series was set ten years later than the book, Blott would have been too young to have served in World War II, so the flashbacks reveal that he was an incompetent Eastern European soldier who was accidentally carried across Iron Curtain by a balloon, and then taken to England by Lady Maud's father.
The 1985 televised version was first released in the UK in 1992 by BBC Enterprises as a "Double video pack", on VHS cassettes (BBC V4775). It had a running time of approximately 313 minutes.
The DVD version (Regions 2+4 Pal UK) was released in 2005 by BBC Worldwide, with a running time of approximately 320 minutes.
Shropshire is a ceremonial county in the West Midlands of England, on the border with Wales. It is bordered by Cheshire to the north, the Welsh county of Wrexham to the north and northwest, Staffordshire to the east, Worcestershire to the southeast, Herefordshire to the south, and the Welsh county of Powys to the west. The largest settlement is Telford, while Shrewsbury is the county town.
Ludlow is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire, England. It is located 28 miles (45 km) south of Shrewsbury and 23 miles (37 km) north of Hereford, on the A49 road which bypasses the town. The town is near the confluence of the rivers Corve and Teme.
George Edward Cole, OBE was an English actor whose career spanned 75 years. He was best known for playing Arthur Daley in the long-running ITV comedy-drama show Minder and Flash Harry in the early St Trinian's films.
Leominster is a market town in Herefordshire, England; it is located at the confluence of the River Lugg and its tributary the River Kenwater. The town is 12 miles north of Hereford and 7 miles south of Ludlow in Shropshire. With a population of 11,700, Leominster is the largest of the five towns in the county; the others being Ross-on-Wye, Ledbury, Bromyard and Kington.
The River Teme rises in Mid Wales, south of Newtown, and flows southeast roughly forming the border between England and Wales for several miles through Knighton before entering England in the vicinity of Bucknell and continuing east to Ludlow in Shropshire. From there, it flows to the north of Tenbury Wells on the Shropshire/Worcestershire border on its way to join the River Severn south of Worcester. The whole of the River Teme was designated as an SSSI by English Nature in 1996.
Bishop's Castle is a market town in the south west of Shropshire, England. According to the 2011 Census it had a population of 1,893.
Herefordshire is a ceremonial county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthshire and Powys to the west. The city of Hereford is the largest settlement and the county town.
BBC Hereford & Worcester is the BBC's local radio station serving the counties of Herefordshire and Worcestershire, which were one county from 1974 to 1998.
Tenbury Wells is a market town and civil parish in the northwestern extremity of the Malvern Hills District of Worcestershire, England. Its northern border adjoins Shropshire, and at the 2021 census joint with Burford it had a population of 5,224.
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Cleobury Mortimer is a market town and civil parish in south-east Shropshire, England, which had a population of 3,036 at the 2011 census. It was granted a market charter by King Henry III in 1226.
Leintwardine is a small to mid-size village and civil parish in north Herefordshire, England, close to the border with Shropshire.
Known as the Hagley Road in Birmingham, the A456 is a main road in England running between Central Birmingham and Woofferton, Shropshire, south of Ludlow. Some sections of the route, for example Edgbaston near Bearwood, are also the route of the Elan Aqueduct which carries Birmingham's water supply from the Elan Valley.
The Clee Hills are a range of hills in Shropshire, England near Ludlow, consisting of Brown Clee Hill 1,772 feet (540 m), the highest peak in Shropshire, and Titterstone Clee Hill 1,749 feet (533 m). They are both in the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Blott on the Landscape is a novel by Tom Sharpe which was first published in 1975. The book was adapted into a 6-part television series of the same name for BBC Television in 1985.
Deddington is a town and civil parish in Oxfordshire, England, 6 miles (10 km) south of Banbury. The parish includes two hamlets, Clifton and Hempton. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 2,146. It has been a market town since the 12th century. One of the Hundred Rolls of King Edward I from 1275–76 records Deddington as a borough.
Ludford is a small village and civil parish in south Shropshire, England. The parish is situated adjacent to the market town of Ludlow and was, until 1895, partly in Herefordshire.
Paddington is a British children's animated television series based on the Paddington Bear books by Michael Bond. Broadcast from 1976 to 1980, the series was scripted by Bond himself, and produced by FilmFair; it was narrated by Michael Hordern, who also voiced all of the characters.
Tong Castle was a very large mostly Gothic country house in Shropshire whose site is between Wolverhampton and Telford, set within a park landscaped by Capability Brown, on the site of a medieval castle of the same name.
Thomas Ridley Sharpe was an English satirical novelist, best known for his Wilt series, as well as Porterhouse Blue and Blott on the Landscape, all three of which were adapted for television.