The winds of war
After four series, the sun is finally setting on The Durrells with big decisions looming for the family, as Jim Maloney reports.
Storm clouds are gathering over the sun-blessed Greek island of Corfu as World War II is set to break out and the Nazis are getting close, having already invaded nearby Albania.
The cosy, if chaotic, life of the Durrells is shaken to the core, leaving them to make the decision of whether to stay on the island or return to Britain.
After four series, the drama is coming to an end and saying goodbye to each other and to Corfu was not easy for the cast who have become good friends.
“Filming the final scenes was very emotional for us all,” says Keeley Hawes, who plays Louisa Durrell.
“I am so fond of all my screen children. I feel just like a real mum to them. They have grown up before my eyes and I have seen their careers blossoming and I couldn’t be more proud of them as actors and human beings, because they are a lovely bunch of people. Every year we have all celebrated Milo’s birthday because it has fallen when we have been in Corfu. He has grown into a lovely young man.
“It will feel odd not going back out to Corfu to film another series. It’s such a beautiful place. The location and the story and the fact that it is based on real people just makes for a lovely show. I have a real and genuine love for it.”
At the start of the new series, Louisa is getting over the end of her romance with Spiros (Alexis Georgoulis) and throwing herself into running the family villa as a guest house. Meanwhile, to get over the heartbreak of his split with Daphne, Leslie (Callum Woodhouse) is indulging in more shooting.
The latest ‘vocation’ for Margo (Daisy Waterstone) is to open a beauty salon, Larry (Josh O’Connor) is continuing to write despite being distracted by two gorgeous ballet dancers, and Gerry (Milo Parker) is collecting yet more animals and planning to open a zoo.
“We’ve got lemurs this time and they are quite extraordinary,” says Hawes. “And there’s also Ulysses the owl, who is my favourite ever animal.
“It is beautiful. I later found out that
the owl
was the favourite of the real Mrs Durrell, who wasn’t that patient with the animals.”
War might be on its way but, true to form, Louisa is doing her best to make life rosy for her children.
“Louisa is someone who wants everything to be as lovely as possible all the time and, in terms of protecting her children, she slightly buries her head in the sand when it comes to talk of war until it gets to the point where she can’t ignore it any more,” says Hawes. “So the story does get a bit darker but in the end it has that ‘Durrell shine’.”
As is usual when filming The Durrells, Hawes’ real-life family came out to spend some time with her in Corfu – actor husband Matthew Macfadyen and their children Myles, Maggie, and Ralph. “It’s always nice having my real family and screen family together because everyone gets on so well together and we go out to a restaurant and have a great time,” she says.
“We had a wrap party in Corfu outside the Durrells’ house. It was a nice warm evening and we set lights up and it was lovely.
“I took away a pair of Louisa’s white sailor-trousers as a memento and one of her aprons. I shall miss playing her ... People seem to love her and tell me that they want her to be their mum, which is very flattering for me.
“The end of the series feels a little bitter-sweet. You don’t want to leave people sobbing. The whole feeling of the series is about looking to the future and what lies ahead. The war is about to start and there are so many things going on.
“We had a bit of freak weather towards the end of filming when it turned blustery and quite grey and it just felt in keeping with what was happening in terms of the story.”
While filming in Corfu, The Bodyguard, in which she played fictional British Home Secretary Julia Montague who is assigned protection in the shape of ex-army hero David Budd (Richard Madden), was being aired on television to much acclaim.
The ever-busy actress has several other projects lined up including a film about the 1970 Miss World contest called Misbehaviour.
“There are lots of exciting things happening but I will never forget my time on The Durrells,” she says. “I will always cherish those memories.”