Archive for November, 2007
Cranford an ‘antidote’ to reality TV
Rome star Simon Woods has encouraged viewers to tune into new BBC drama Cranford, saying it makes a nice change from “shouty, sweary celebrity programmes”. The 27-year-old actor, who plays heroic young Doctor Harrison in the adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell’s novel, said: “There’s something lovely about watching this because it’s such a gentle thing. Cranford [...]
Cranford – community brought to life
Ian Wylie – Manchester Evening News THE Manchester railway is on track to arrive in Cheshire as a landmark TV period drama comes to the screen. “I didn’t realise quite how big the programme was until the first day,” recalls Sue Birtwistle, producer of £8m five-part serial Cranford. “The guy who organised the transport came [...]
The noble art of curtain twitching
From The Sunday Times, Jenny Uglow The BBC adaptation of Mrs Gaskell’s Cranford borrows narrative techniques from ER. How do you scrub up a literary soap? Anyone who thinks that stories about widows and spinsters in rural Cheshire in the 1840s are irrelevant to the modern world is in for a surprise. The BBC’s new [...]
Beam me up, Mrs Gaskell
Philip Glenister takes a break from Life on Mars to get Mr Carter in the BBC’s new Cranford Rachel Cooke, The Observer Somewhere deep in south London – I’m not sure that either of us knows exactly where we are – Philip Glenister and I are meeting to discuss his role as Mr Carter in [...]
Why Cranford is Britain’s hottest town
With Pride and Prejudice’s producer and both Judi Dench and Eileen Atkins in the cast, ‘Cranford’ may be the biggest period drama yet. Chloe Fox reports in The Daily Telegraph. You might think we’d be tired of period dramas by now – the perpetual primetime bombardment of bonnets and bustles. But, judging by the viewing [...]
Radio times reveals scheduling for Cranford
Radio Times updated it’s Schedules today. Cranford New series Sunday 18 November 9:00pm – 10:00pm BBC1 June 1842 Funny and touching drama that brings together the idiosyncrasies and misfortunes of the lives of the people of Cranford. With the arrival of new residents the women of the town are sparkling with anticipation. Centring on Matty [...]
Dame Judi Dench plays Miss Matty Jenkyns
Judi Dench first encountered Elizabeth Gaskell’s Cranford as a schoolgirl in Yorkshire some, by her own reckoning, “60-odd years ago”. “Recently, a neighbour lent me a copy of it, just like the little red copy that I read at school with a raised oval featuring a portrait of Mrs Gaskell in the corner,” says the [...]
Cranford Trailer on BBC One
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Dame Eileen Atkins plays Miss Deborah Jenkyns
When Cranford producer Sue Birtwistle was casting the actress to play the absolute moral centre of Elizabeth Gaskell’s fictitious 1840s northern town, she turned naturally to Eileen Atkins. “Whenever I get asked to play a part like this, people say it’s because ‘we need someone with authority’,” admits the veteran star whose stage, TV and [...]
Imelda Staunton plays Miss Pole
Just as Miss Pole connects everyone and all their goings-on in Cranford, so too does Imelda Staunton do the same job with its ensemble cast. The Oscar-nominated actress has previously worked alongside most of its more established names. Need a few examples? Here we go…