Larkin about in the beautiful countryside
The Darling Buds of May was ‘perfick’ viewing, writes MARION MCMULLEN
RURAL comedy The Darling Buds Of May had it all. Set in the sun-strewn Kent countryside of the 1950s, it followed the fortunes of the eight-strong Larkin family with Sir David Jason and Pam Ferris as the lovable Pop and Ma Larkin.
They famously shared a bath tub together in one episode and Ma and Pop loved to eat well and enjoyed cocktails at any time of the day.
David Jason said he scoffed so much food during the making of the series that he could not fit into his dinner jacket afterwards and had to go on a diet.
The ITV show began in 1991 and ran for 20 episodes over three series, following Pop Larkin’s outlandish money-making schemes to supplement the income brought in from his 22-acre holding.
Much of the filming took place around the village of Pluckley in Kent. The stories were based on the 1957 novel by H E Bates and his son Richard acted as an executive producer on the programme.
The title comes from a Shakespeare sonnet “Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer’s lease hath all too short a date”.
The comedy drama became one of the most popular shows on British telly and is set to make a comeback after 30 years, under new title The Larkins.
The six-parter from ITV will star Bradley Walsh and Joanna Scanlan as Pop and Ma Larkin and is being adapted by Simon Nye, who wrote The Durrells and Men Behaving Badly . He says: “The novels are short, hilarious and magical. We will be expanding the Larkins’ world a little and can’t wait to immerse ourselves in this glorious countryside idyll.” As Pop Larkin would say, “Perfick”.