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Little Gems - Wish List Page 2

I thought I would add an extra page on bits and pieces of information that I have gathered over the years but for which I have precious little else. Most of the images below represent items that I would love the BBC and ITV to bring back to our screens whether it be in the form of a repeat showing or an official DVD release. Anyone having similar material or requests can let me know at the usual address and I will upload it to these pages.

Break in the Sun written by Bernard Ashley

This was quite a gritty piece of drama produced by the BBC. I remember thinking (me being 15 years old) how awful it was for the girl to live such a terrible life with no way of escaping. The novel and serial concerned the life a young girl called Patsy Bligh. She was very unhappy at home especially with her bad tempered step father who was always shouting and in a bad mood. Patsy longs to be with old Mrs. Broadley who lives at the seaside in Margate. She and mum had happier times then before they moved to the city. So Patsy runs away from home to be with her. This sort of rang bells and could perhaps be compared with plot two other dramas, one film by the Children's Film Foundation called "Flight of the Doves" and the other an Australian children's serial called "Catch Kandy."

Patsy's stepfather Eddie is not easily shaken off and he sets off in pursuit of her. Most of the drama concerns Patsy's attempts to stay ahead of him. Eventually she reaches Mrs. Broadley's house in Margate only to find that the old lady has recently died. Patsy as you can imagine is in shock, her one chance to escape the nasty stepfather has been wrenched from her dreams and she feels all alone. If this were a "Play for Today" type production Patsy would have died after hearing the dreadful news about Mrs. Broadley but for children's BBC, Patsy has to be given a way out and it comes in the form of a remorseful Eddie who promises to try and be a good stepfather.

The episodes were shown on BBC1 back in February 1981. The serial lasted for six episodes (each lasting 25-30mins) and was dramatised by Alan England. The main cast and credits were as follows (thanks again to the RadioTimes for this information). Nicola Cowper went onto to star in mostly British televisions dramas including "Inspector Morse", "Dangerfield", "Holby City", "The Practice" & "Minder" to name but a few.

Marmalade Atkins written by Andrew Davies

Who doesn't remember this brilliant piece of childrens acting. It was like a breath of fresh air in terms of it challenging the very fabric of children's place in school and the world in general. Brilliantly acted by the late Charlotte Coleman who died when she was only thirty three. The series examined all aspects of a child's life growing up around school and education. Produced by Thames Television the small pilot episodes soon a ran into several seasons and a whole load of acting offers for its young star Charlotte.

The first series was produced in 1981 and had the following cast and credits:

Further series were produced called Educating Marmalade (covers shown above). This was produced in 1982-1983 and had the same cast as previously shown. The theme song though was sung by "Bad Manners." A new director joined the team in the form of John Stroud.

In 1984 Marmalade returned with "Danger: Marmalade at Work" This contained 10 episodes of the comedy show. Mrs. Atkins was replaced by Carol MacReady and the theme song was sung by Charlotte herself. The directors lost Colin Bucksey but gained Peter Duguid who shared the job with John Stroud.

Carrie's War written by Nina Bawden

Just look at the price of the book, shows how old this is. This was an odd sort of children's drama since it did not have a real plot i.e. there were no ghosts or baddies or missing treasure etc. It concerned two children called Carrie and Nick Willow who are sent away to the country (evacuated from London to Wales). The series was set during world war two and the children end up in a new household with rather strange guardians. The master of the house was a mean old man called Mr. Evans who scares the children. Anyway to cut a long story short, Carrie finally understands why Evans is like he is and the cursed skull turns out to be a red herring. The atmosphere of fear and suspense is wrongfully placed since there is no need for it in the story and bears no influence on the supposed plot.

The five part serial was shown slightly later in the afternoon on a weekday back in February 1974. Each episode lasted for between 25 and 30 minutes.

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