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 a new BBC adaptation Read the rest of this entry »
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 figures for the BBC’s most recent offerings, the opposite is true.
Gaskell’s Cranford is much more like Dickens than Austen
Last year, Jane Eyre averaged 6.6 million viewers. The year before, Bleak House peaked at the 7 million mark. And this year’s model looks likely to be bigger and better than ever before.
Cranford, a five-part Read the rest of this entry »
Radio times reveals scheduling for Cranford
Radio Times updated it’s Schedules today.
Cranford
New seriesSunday 18 November
9:00pm – 10:00pm
BBC1
June 1842Funny 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 Jenkyns and her older, stricter sister Debora, we share in their excitement as a new house guest and neighbours arrive. When Jem, the local carpenter, falls from a tree, all eyes are upon on the new doctor and his untested modern methods.
VIDEO Plus+: 9741
Subtitled, Widescreen
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 Oscar-winning actress. Read the rest of this entry »
Cranford Trailer on BBC One
Watch the trailer
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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 film credits add up to a Read the rest of this entry »
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… Read the rest of this entry »
Julia McKenzie plays Mrs Forrester
Julia Mckenzie was working alongside fellow Cranford star Dame Judi Dench four years ago when the role of impoverished widow Mrs Forrester first appeared on the horizon.
“I was doing a play with Judi in the West End, The Royal Family,” Julia recalls. “Sue Birtwistle, the producer of Cranford, came to the first night, took me into a corner and said ‘I’ve got a good part for you’.” Read the rest of this entry »
Francesca Annis plays Lady Ludlow
Perhaps more than any character in Cranford, Lady Ludlow embodies the desire to maintain the old order, but progress is threatening the status quo.
“She represents old conservative paternalism,” says Francesca Annis. Read the rest of this entry »
Philip Glenister plays Mr Carter
Philip Glenister cheerfully admits that, for him, part of the appeal of Cranford was taking a step back from a certain DCI Gene Hunt.
The unashamedly old-school copper in the hit BBC One drama Life On Mars is undoubtedly one of TV’s most memorable creations in recent years, but a change is as good as a rest, or so they say. Read the rest of this entry »