Howards' Way

Last updated

Howards' Way
Howards Way.jpg
Main title caption (From Series Two to Series Six)
Genre Drama
Created by Gerard Glaister
Allan Prior
Starring Maurice Colbourne
Jan Harvey
Glyn Owen
Dulcie Gray
Stephen Yardley
Tony Anholt
Susan Gilmore
Tracey Childs
Edward Highmore
Cindy Shelley
Ivor Danvers
Patricia Shakesby
Sarah-Jane Varley
Nigel Davenport
Lana Morris
Sian Webber
Kate O'Mara
Jeff Harding
Theme music composer Simon May
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series6
No. of episodes78 (List of episodes)
Production
ProducerGerard Glaister
Running time50 minutes
Production company BBC Birmingham (Pebble Mill Studios)
Original release
Network BBC1
Release1 September 1985 (1985-09-01) 
25 November 1990 (1990-11-25)

Howards' Way is a television drama series produced by BBC Birmingham and transmitted on BBC1 between 1 September 1985 and 25 November 1990. The series deals with the personal and professional lives of the wealthy yachting and business communities in the fictional town of Tarrant on the south coast of England, and was filmed on the River Hamble and the Solent.

Contents

The series was notable for its pioneering camerawork onboard yachts, often filming multiple yachts racing in choppy waters and high winds, and its extensive location shooting mainly on the south coast of Britain. Most of the location filming for the series was carried out in Bursledon, Hamble, Swanwick, Warsash, Hill Head, Lee-on-the-Solent, Lymington, Hythe, Southampton and Fareham—all in Hampshire. The Jolly Sailor pub in Bursledon featured in several episodes. [1]

All interiors were filmed in Studio A at the now-demolished BBC Pebble Mill studios in Edgbaston, Birmingham. Extensive two-storey sets were constructed inside the studio (the Howards and the Urquhart homes were both functioning two-floor sets). The smaller Studio B (used for regional news) was also occasionally used as an on-screen fashion photography studio. Other areas of the large 1970s TV and radio complex (opened in 1971) were used for the many board room scenes in the series, with long corridors and lifts sometimes doubling as a busy hospital and meeting rooms became lavish corporate hospitality suites.

History

Howards' Way was created and produced by Gerard Glaister and Allan Prior, with lead writer Raymond Thompson as story and script consultant—at a point in the BBC's history when the organisation was making a concerted populist strike against ITV in its approach to programming. The series debuted on BBC1 in 1985, the same year that the BBC launched its first ongoing soap opera EastEnders as a challenge to the ratings supremacy of ITV's Coronation Street . Although Howards' Way is commonly cited as an attempt to provide a British alternative to glossy American sagas such as Dallas and Dynasty , it also acts as a continuation of plot themes explored in a previous Glaister series, The Brothers , which involved a family's personal and professional crises running a road haulage firm, and embraced several soap opera touches in its characterisations and storylines. [2]

The original working title for the series was "The Boatbuilders", which was ultimately rejected when it was felt that it sounded like a documentary series and wouldn't grab viewers' attention.

The theme music was composed by Simon May and performed by his orchestra. [3] Executive Leslie Osborne secured a co-writer credit, but in reality did not contribute to the composition. [4] After series one, Don Black was commissioned to write lyrics for the theme; May had suggested the title "Almost There", which Black changed to "Always There". The song was recorded by Marti Webb, and reached number 13 in the UK singles chart. [5] The upbeat variation of the theme, "Barracuda", was used over the show's end credits from series 3 until the show ended, and was a "re-visitation" of a section of May's song "Believe" for his musical Smike . [6]

Inspired by a storyline in Howards' Way, Gerard Glaister went on to create Trainer (1991–1992), set in the world of horse-racing, and also featuring several of the same cast members.

Plot

The protagonists in the early episodes are the titular Howard family—Tom (Maurice Colbourne), wife Jan (Jan Harvey) and grown-up children Leo (Edward Highmore) and Lynne (Tracey Childs). Tom is made redundant from his job as an aircraft designer after twenty years and is unwilling to re-enter the rat race. A sailing enthusiast, he decides to pursue his dream of designing and building boats, putting his redundancy pay-out into the ailing Mermaid boatyard, run by Jack Rolfe (Glyn Owen), a gruff traditionalist, and his daughter Avril (Susan Gilmore). Tom immediately finds himself in conflict with Jack, whose reliance on alcohol and whose resentment of Tom's new design ideas threaten the business, but has an ally in Avril, who turns out to be the real driving force behind the yard with her cool, businesslike brain. Jan, who has spent the last twenty years raising the children and building the family home, is less than impressed by her husband's risky new venture, and finds herself pursuing her own life outside the family through establishing a new marina boutique whilst working for Ken Masters (Stephen Yardley).

Other major characters introduced during the first series are Kate Harvey (Dulcie Gray), Jan's sensible and supportive mother, the millionaire businessman Charles Frere (Tony Anholt) and the wealthy but unhappy Urquhart family. Gerald (Ivor Danvers) is the right-hand man of Charles Frere. Polly (Patricia Shakesby), a friend of Jan, is a bored corporate wife preoccupied with preserving her social status, and their daughter Abby (Cindy Shelley) is a socially awkward young woman who has returned to Tarrant after completing her education at a Swiss finishing school and who establishes a friendship with Leo Howard. Unlike the comparatively close and secure Howard family, the Urquharts have secrets to hide. Gerald and Polly's marriage is a sham—an arrangement to cover the fact that Gerald is bisexual, to give him respectability in the business world and give a name to Abby, Polly's illegitimate daughter after an affair at university. Abby herself is pregnant, after a brief relationship in Switzerland.

The series combined standard melodramatic storylines involving family drama, romance and extramarital affairs (Tom and Avril, Jan and Ken) with business-related plots of corporate intrigue and scheming for power, climaxing with an end-of-series cliffhanger.

Reception

Howards' Way proved to be a hugely popular programme for the BBC, both domestically and in overseas sales. While the series was unable to compete with the likes of Dallas and Dynasty in terms of opulence, its stylistic aspects did develop as it went on, with the staging of powerboat races and fashion shows, and extensive location filming in Guernsey, Malta and Gibraltar as the storylines dictated.

A number of new characters were also introduced later in the series, such as Sarah Foster (Sarah-Jane Varley), a glamorous business partner for Ken Masters, Sir Edward Frere (Nigel Davenport), the rich tycoon father of Charles Frere, Orrin Hudson (Jeff Harding), the American father of Abby Urquhart's baby, Emma Neesome (Sian Webber), a beautiful engineer who came to work with Tom Howard and Jack Rolfe at the Mermaid yard, and Vanessa Andenberg (Lana Morris), an elegant widow and old flame of Jack Rolfe. Midway through the show's run, Charles is revealed to be Abby's biological father. In a parallel with Dynasty, actress Kate O'Mara, who had previously starred in The Brothers and had also appeared in the American supersoap as Caress Morrell, was also brought in, to play ruthless businesswoman Laura Wilde.

During the production of the fifth series, lead actor Maurice Colbourne, who played central character Tom Howard, suddenly died from a heart attack during a break in filming. Episode nine featured his last appearance with the remaining episodes hurriedly rewritten to explain the character's absence. He was finally killed off at the beginning of the sixth and final series, commissioned to end the programme and to tie up all the storylines. The final episode of Howards' Way was transmitted on 25 November 1990.

Boats

Central to the plot were three yachts - The Flying Fish, a Laser 28; Barracuda of Tarrant, the prototype of the Sadler Barracuda 45, and Spring of Tarrant, the prototype of the MG Spring 25. Both the Barracuda and Spring were designed by Tony Castro.

Main cast list

CharacterActorSeries
Series 1Series 2Series 3Series 4Series 5Series 6
Tom Howard Maurice Colbourne
Jan Howard Jan Harvey
Ken Masters Stephen Yardley
Jack Rolfe Glyn Owen
Charles Frere Tony Anholt
Avril Rolfe Susan Gilmore
Kate Harvey Dulcie Gray
Leo Howard Edward Highmore
Lynne Howard Tracey Childs
Abby Urquhart Cindy Shelley
Gerald Urquhart Ivor Danvers
Polly Urquhart Patricia Shakesby
Bill Sayers Robert Vahey
Sir John Stevens Willoughby Gray
Claude DupontMalcolm Jamieson
Dawn Williams Sally Farmiloe
Davy Malik Kulvinder Ghir
Phil Norton Anthony Head
Richard Shellet Oscar Quitak
David Lloyd Bruce Bould
Sarah FosterSarah-Jane Varley
Mark Foster Graham Pountney
Orrin HudsonRyan Michael / Jeff Harding
Curtis Jaeger Dean Harris
Viscount Cunningham Richard Wilson
Sir Edward Frere Nigel Davenport
Emma Neesome Sian Webber
Vanessa Andenberg Lana Morris
Admiral Francis Redfern Michael Denison
Amanda Parker Francesca Gonshaw
Mr. Lee Burt Kwouk
Anna Lee Sarah Lam
Mike HanleyMichael Loney
Richard Spencer John Moulder-Brown
Scott Benson Paul Maxwell
Laura Wilde Kate O'Mara
James Brooke Andrew Bicknell
Vicki Rockwell Victoria Burgoyne
Yvette Studer Catherine Schell
Robert Hastings Paul Jerricho
Jenny Richards Charmian Gradwell
David Relton Richard Heffer
Tony MunroeJohn Rhean
Pierre Challon James Coombes

Series overview

SeriesEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
Series 1 13 1 September 198524 November 1985
Series 2 13 31 August 198623 November 1986
Series 3 13 6 September 198729 November 1987
Series 4 13 4 September 198827 November 1988
Series 5 13 3 September 198926 November 1989
Series 6 13 2 September 199025 November 1990

DVD releases

DVD SeriesEpisodesRegion 2 Release DateRegion 4 Release DateComments
Complete Series 11320 March 20066 October 20084 disc set included three commentaries on Episodes 1, 12 and 13 with Jan Harvey (Jan Howard),
Stephen Yardley (Ken Masters) and Howards' Way fan Tim Teeman.
Complete Series 21319 June 200616 February 20094 disc set included three commentaries on Episodes 1, 12 and 13 again with Jan Harvey (Jan Howard),
Stephen Yardley (Ken Masters) and Howards' Way fan Tim Teeman.
Complete Series 31311 September 200618 May 20094 disc set with no special features.
Complete Series 41311 February 200813 July 20094 disc set with no special features.
Complete Series 51319 May 200816 November 20094 disc set with no special features.
Complete Series 61318 August 20088 February 20104 disc set with no special features.
The Complete Series Boxset782 November 200924 disc boxset including all 6 series and all 78 episodes.

The show is rated  PG  for Parental Guidance in Australia and  PG  in New Zealand for violence and coarse language.

In other media

A medley of the theme songs from Howards' Way and EastEnders was recorded by the Shadows and reached No. 86 on the UK singles chart in December 1986. [7]

Related Research Articles

<i>Blakes 7</i> British science fiction television series (1978–1981)

Blake's 7 is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. Four 13-episode series were broadcast on BBC1 between 1978 and 1981. It was created by Terry Nation, who also wrote the first series, produced by David Maloney and Vere Lorrimer, and the script editor throughout its run was Chris Boucher, who wrote nine of its episodes. The main character for the first two series was Roj Blake, played by Gareth Thomas.

<i>Doctors</i> (2000 TV series) British television soap opera

Doctors was a British medical soap opera, first broadcast on BBC One on 26 March 2000, and concluded on 14 November 2024. Filmed in Birmingham and set in the fictional West Midlands town of Letherbridge, the soap follows the lives of the staff of both an NHS doctor's surgery and a university campus surgery, as well as the lives of their families and friends. Initially, only 41 episodes of the programme were ordered, but due to the positive reception, the BBC ordered it as a continuing soap opera. Doctors was filmed at the Pebble Mill Studios until 2004; production then relocated to the BBC Drama Village, where it filmed until 2024. Episodes are filmed three months prior to transmission. The show was typically broadcast Mondays to Thursdays at 2:00 pm on BBC One, as well as having classic episodes broadcast on Drama. It took three annual transmission breaks across the year: at Easter, during the summer and at Christmas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Borough of Eastleigh</span> Non-metropolitan borough and borough in England

The Borough of Eastleigh is a local government district with borough status in Hampshire, England. It is named after its main town of Eastleigh, where the council is based. The borough also contains the town of Hedge End along with several villages, many of which form part of the South Hampshire urban area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hamble-le-Rice</span> Village and parish in Hampshire, England

Hamble-le-Rice, commonly known as Hamble, is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Eastleigh in Hampshire, England. It is best known for being a flying training centre during the Second World War and is a popular yachting location. The village and the River Hamble also featured in the 1980s BBC television series Howards' Way. The village centre, known as The Square, Hamble, has a more traditional English village aesthetic which differentiates it from the small industrial areas close to the village.

<i>Eldorado</i> (TV series) British television soap opera (1992–1993)

Eldorado was a British soap opera created by Tony Holland, from an original idea by John Dark and Verity Lambert of a glamorous, upmarket soap focusing on wealthy British expatriates, similar to US soaps Dallas and Dynasty. The show ran for only one year, from 6 July 1992 to 9 July 1993. Set in the fictional town of Los Barcos on the Costa Eldorado in Spain and following the lives of British and European expatriates, the BBC hoped it would be as successful as EastEnders and replicate some of the sunshine and glamour of imported Australian soaps such as Home and Away and Neighbours.

Maurice Colbourne was an English stage and television actor who starred as Tom Howard in the BBC television series Howards' Way. He is also known for roles in other television series such as Gangsters, The Onedin Line, The Day of the Triffids and Doctor Who. He was usually cast as a villain in his career.

Simon May is a British composer. He has composed many British television theme tunes, including EastEnders and Howards' Way, and the music for the 1988 film The Dawning.

Trainer was a British television series transmitted by the BBC between 1991 and 1992. It was produced by Gerard Glaister as a follow-up to the long-running series Howards' Way.

The EastEnders theme tune was composed by Simon May. Leslie Osborne has a contractual composer credit, but did not contribute to the composition or recording.

Cynthia Shelley is an English actress, known for her roles in two BBC television dramas of the 1980s: Alice Courtenay in Tenko and Abby Urquhart in Howards' Way.

Patricia Shakesby is an English actress and playwright, best known for her role as Polly Urquhart in Howards' Way. She is also notable for being an original cast member of Coronation Street, in which she played Susan Cunningham, the first on-screen love interest of Ken Barlow.

Oil Strike North is a BBC television drama series produced in 1975.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anyone Can Fall in Love</span> 1986 single by Anita Dobson and the Simon May Orchestra

"Anyone Can Fall in Love" is a song, released in 1986, by EastEnders actress Anita Dobson, who played the character of Angie Watts. The song was released as a single, reaching No. 4 in the UK Singles Chart.

<i>The Syndicate</i> British television drama series

The Syndicate is a British television drama series. It was written by Kay Mellor and is broadcast on BBC One. It sees five members of a betting syndicate win the lottery. Each series follows a different syndicate. The first series is set in a Leeds supermarket; the second, a public hospital in Bradford; the third, a crumbling stately home near Scarborough; and the fourth is set between a dog kennel in Yorkshire and Monaco.

<i>Simons Way</i> 1986 studio album by The Simon May Orchestra

Simon's Way is an album by Britain's The Simon May Orchestra and released in 1986. Anita Dobson, who also starred in the television show EastEnders sings the theme to the show. Marti Webb sings the theme to the television show Howards' Way.

The thirteenth series of the British medical drama television series Casualty commenced airing in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 5 September 1998 and finished on 13 March 1999. It saw another increase, this time to 28 episodes, including a feature-length Christmas episode. This was the first series to be broadcast in widescreen. The series also acted as a launchpad for characters and storylines in the spin-off series Holby City, which started in January 1999.

<i>The Simon May Collection</i> 2010 compilation album by Simon May

The Simon May Collection is a 2010 compilation album of television and film music written by Simon May.

Urquhart is a Scottish surname. It is a habitational name, that can be derived from any of four places with the name. Other places named Urquhart, including one by Loch Ness, are derived from the Brythonic elements ar, meaning "on", "by"; and cardden, meaning "thicket". The Scottish Gaelic form of the surname is Urchardan.

Leslie Osborne (1905–1990) was an English television and music executive and composer of light music and themes for television and radio. As a composer, he wrote a number of lighter orchestral pieces such as Lullaby for Penelope.

<i>NCIS</i> (soundtrack) Soundtrack of the television series NCIS

NCIS: The Official TV Soundtrack is a series of soundtrack albums featuring music used in the CBS television series NCIS. The first volume in the series, released on February 10, 2009, received attention for its method of compiling music for the album; show producers and writers were presented previously unreleased tracks from popular artists "ranging from Perry Farrell to Jakob Dylan as the shows were being crafted, and then taking inspiration from those tunes to help craft the show." This method contrasted with the norm for TV soundtracks, which tend to be compilations of previously released music that is already available individually or on other albums. NCIS: The Official TV Soundtrack – Vol. 2 was released on November 3, 2009, according to Amazon.com.

References

  1. "BBC - Hampshire - When Howards' Way ruled the waves". BBC News. 22 July 2009. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  2. "Hampshire - History - Howards' Way". BBC. 23 June 2009. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  3. "The Theme From Howard's Way - Simon May Song - BBC Music". Archived from the original on 20 September 2018.
  4. May, Simon (2015). Doof Doof: My Life in Music. Austin Macauley Publishers. pp. 54–55. ISBN   978-1785546372.
  5. May, Simon (2015). Doof Doof: My Life in Music. Austin Macauley Publishers. p. 61. ISBN   978-1785546372.
  6. May, Simon (2015). Doof Doof: My Life in Music. Austin Macauley Publishers. p. 65. ISBN   978-1785546372.
  7. "UK Official Chart: Shadows". Official Charts Company. 2019. Retrieved 27 January 2019.