The Lakes (TV series)

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The Lakes
Format Drama
Created by Jimmy McGovern
Starring John Simm, Emma Cunniffe, Mary Jo Randle, Paul Copley, Robert Pugh, Elizabeth Bennett, Nicholas Day, Kaye Wragg, Charles Dale, Clare Holman, Kevin Doyle, Annabelle Apsion, Matt Bardock, Amanda Mealing, Barbara Wilshere
Country of origin Flag of the United Kingdom United Kingdom
No. of episodes 14
Production
Running time 90 mins (series 1, episode 1)
50 mins (series 1, episodes 2-4)
40 mins (series 2)
Broadcast
Original channel BBC1/ITV3
Original run 1997 – 1999c

The Lakes is the title of a television drama series in the United Kingdom, made by the BBC and created and principally written by Jimmy McGovern. The Lakes brought writer Jimmy McGovern and actor John Simm a great deal of critical praise in 1997. Following a particularly dry period for British TV drama, the show's realistic characterisations and their painfully honest decisions hit audiences hard. Simm plays Danny Kavanagh; a twentysomething trapped in a life of compulsive gambling, theft and being on the dole in Liverpool. On a whim he heads north to the Lake District. He expects to find the countryside quietude where his hidden poetical leanings might find a home, but instead gets caught up in a community like any other. Lies, temptation and tragedy beset every household just as much as the big city. As time races by, Danny's link to the Lakes becomes an exercise in torment when the eyes of blame fall easily upon him after the accidental deaths of three schoolgirls. Stoking the flames of a series of secondary explosions in waiting are a pair of affairs, one adulterous, the other complicated by religion.

In the far longer sequel series that came two years later, these back-stories would come to the fore. Although exploring Danny's tortured soul might have been the obvious continuation, instead an almost Hitchcockian murder scenario occupies far more screen time, with series two showing much more of the black humour only fleetingly evident in series one. This second series received very mixed reviews, with most critics disappointed by its departure from the realism of series one into high melodrama and very contrived plots. Another point of contention was that McGovern had much less input into the writing of what were essentially his characters and situations, resulting in deviations from their consistency from the first series.

The series examines morality in a small community in the British Lake District embracing sex, death and Catholic guilt. It was critically acclaimed when first broadcast, but often controversial, due to its hard-hitting portrayal of an immoral English sub-culture, and scenes of sex and violence. It consisted of two series which ran from 1997 to 1999.

Contents

[edit] Overview

The central core of both series is the relationship between Danny Kavanagh (John Simm) and Lucy Archer (Kaye Wragg). In Series One, Danny is a compulsive gambler and philanderer, who escapes from the dole queues in Liverpool to live in the Lake District. He meets and marries local girl Emma Quinlan and they move back to Liverpool, until Emma is driven home by Danny's gambling. Danny follows, gets a job looking after a rowing boat concession and starts to patch up his relationship with Emma, who now has a daughter. Danny rejects unsubtle advances from attention-seeking Lucy Archer, who determines to gain revenge. When three schoolgirls are drowned in a boating accident when Danny is on the phone to the bookies, Lucy lies to implicate Danny. Danny is unwilling to to tell the truth as he has promised to stop gambling. The community looks for someone to blame, but Lucy is exposed as a liar in the subsequent inquest after phone call records provide Danny with an alibi. In Series two, Lucy's attention-seeking leads to her rape by three locals ... but only Danny Kavanagh, enduring the claustrophobic hostility of the Quinlan family home, can testify as a witness, at odds with the village, his wife and her family.

[edit] Cast

[edit] The Kavanaghs

  • John Simm as Danny Kavanagh
  • Kate Fitzgerald as Mam
  • Arthur Kelly as Dad

[edit] The Quinlans

  • Emma Cunniffe as Emma Kavanagh, Danny's wife
  • Mary Jo Randle as Bernie Quinlan, Emma's devout Catholic mother
  • Paul Copley as Peter Quinlan, Emma's pent-up, unsophisticated father
  • James Thornton as Pete Quinlan, Emma's pent-up, unsophisticated brother
  • Jessica Perry as Annie Quinlan, Bernie and Peter's youngest child
  • Tony Rohr as Grandad, Bernie Quinlan and Sheila Thwaites father
  • unknown as Samantha Kavanagh, Danny and Emma's daughter

[edit] The Archers

  • Elizabeth Bennett as Doreen Archer, the stuck-up hotelier
  • Nicholas Day as Cecil Archer, Doreen's downtrodden husband
  • Kaye Wragg as Lucy Archer, the Archers' manipulative and provocative daughter

[edit] The Hotel staff

[edit] The Thwaites

  • Elizabeth Rider as Sheila Thwaite, Bernie's sister
  • David Westhead as Arthur Thwaite, Sheila's husband
  • Jenna Scruton as Paula Thwaite, their daughter

[edit] The Fishers

  • Kevin Doyle as John Fisher, a schoolteacher who has been driven mad by his adulterous wife
  • Clare Holman as Simone Fisher, wife of the schoolteacher and one of the many women who succumb to Chef's charms
  • Annabelle Apsion as Beverly, Simone's sister
  • Note: John and Simone's surname was Parr in series one

[edit] The Kilbrides

  • Barbara Wilshere as Dr Sarah Kilbride, hiding her lesbian past from her husband
  • Robert Morgan as Charles Kilbride, Sarah's husband
  • Amanda Mealing as Jo Jo Spiers, the lesbian teacher who replaces John Parr. Used to have an affair with Sarah Kilbride

[edit] Others

[edit] Location

The series was principally filmed in and around Patterdale and The Ullswater Hotel, Glenridding. The lake is Ullswater.

[edit] DVD Release

Released as a 4-disc set in 2003. Series 1, episode 1 has commentaries by John Simm and David Blair.

[edit] Aftermath

The Lakes was the springboard for the British TV drama careers of many of the cast.

Series Appearances by:
Badger Kevin Doyle
The Bill Elizabeth Bennett, Nicholas Day, Kaye Wragg, Charles Dale, Elizabeth Berrington, Marshall Lancaster, Kevin Doyle, Bob Mason, Sally Rogers
The Canterbury Tales John Simm
Casualty Mary Jo Randle, Charles Dale, Elizabeth Berrington, Matt Bardock, Kevin Doyle, Robert Pugh, Bob Mason
Clocking Off John Simm, Emma Cunniffe, Marshall Lancaster, Robert Pugh, Bob Mason
Coronation Street Marshall Lancaster, Samantha Seager, Annabelle Apsion,Charles Dale
Dalziel and Pascoe Mary Jo Randle, Bob Mason, Emma Cunniffe, Kaye Wragg, James Thornton
Doctors Mary Jo Randle, Nicholas Day, Marshall Lancaster, Bob Mason
Doctor Who John Simm, Paul Copley
Great Expectations Emma Cunniffe
Heartbeat Mary Jo Randle, Elizabeth Bennett
Holby City Mary Jo Randle, Charles Dale, Justin Brady, Marshall Lancaster, Kevin Doyle, Amanda Mealing, Emma Cunniffe, James Thornton
Home To Roost Elizabeth Bennett
Inspector Morse Mary Jo Randle, Clare Holman
Life On Mars John Simm, Marshall Lancaster,Paul Copley
London's Burning Mary Jo Randle, Kevin Doyle
No Angels Kaye Wragg, James Thornton
Peak Practice Justin Brady, Bob Mason, Marshall Lancaster
Queer As Folk Paul Copley
The Royal Mary Jo Randle, Marshall Lancaster
Shameless Paul Copley, Justin Brady, Annabelle Apsion, Robert Pugh
Spaced Charles Dale, John Simm
A Touch of Frost Charles Dale, Matt Bardock
Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps Lee Oakes
White Teeth John Simm

[edit] Stories

Season-
Story		 Writer Director Synopsis
1-1 Jimmy McGovern David Blair Compulsive gambler Danny arrives in a small Lake District village and gets a job working under a tyrannical, sex-mad chef in a hotel. He loses the job after making local girl Emma pregnant, and takes charge of hiring out boats. But then there’s a tragic accident while he’s phoning in a bet.
1-2 Jimmy McGovern David Blair Despite’s Danny's efforts, three schoolgirls have drowned in the lake and the angry villagers make him the scapegoat.
1-3 Jimmy McGovern David Blair The funerals take place and Danny tries to discover the truth behind the tragedy, but he’s not helped by the lies of Lucy Archer. Bernie Quinlan’s passion for Father Matthew grows.
1-4 Jimmy McGovern David Blair Everyone gets to hear Chef having sex with Lucy. The inquest is held with Danny in the dock, putting a strain on his relationship with Emma. The passion between Bernie and Father Matthew boils over.
2-1 Jimmy McGovern Bill Anderson Danny is contemplating suicide after being made to feel an outcast after admitting to his wife Emma that he had been gambling again. John Fisher can no longer cope with his wife's affairs and he bludgeons her to death in the bath.
2-2 Jimmy McGovern Bill Anderson The forbidden passion between Father Matthew and married parishioner Bernie Quinlan is about to erupt. Parr is struggling to summon up the courage to dispose of his wife's body when his sister-in-law Beverly turns up.
2-3 Joe Ainsworth Bill Anderson With flies buzzing round the boot of his car, John is finding it harder to hide his wife's murder from her flirtatious sister. Danny is trying to be a responsible father, but he also wants some fun. Bernie is still troubled by her conscience. Dr Kilbride is called to school to treat a pupil where her former lesbian lover Jo Jo is the new teacher.
2-4 Joe Ainsworth Sally Aprahamian Beverly is still besotted by John and helps him to destroy all the evidence of Simone's murder. Lucy plays with fire when she joins the local lads for a game of pool. Jo Jo wants to restart her relationship with Dr Kilbride.
2-5 Joe Ainsworth Sally Aprahamian Lucy has to decide whether to report her rape by Billy, Ged and Peter, fearing that her previous lies about Danny's involvement in the drownings could count against her. Danny tells Emma that her mother is not as saintly as she tries to make out.
2-6 Julie Rutterford Sally Aprahamian Bernie discovers she is pregnant with Father Matthew's baby. Danny tells Lucy that he knows she was raped. Sergeant Slater's dog Syndrome uncovers something interesting in the lake.
2-7 William Gaminara David Moore John Parr gets his revenge against Chef by kidnapping his son, while the police start to piece together the facts about Simone's murder. Danny is thrown out by the Quinlans when he tells them he will be a witness on behalf of Lucy Archer, against Tony Quinlan and his two co-defendants. Mrs Archer is upset about the backlash that has resulted from her daughter's allegations. Bernie tells Father Matthew about her pregnancy.
2-8 Jimmy McGovern David Moore Father Matthew and Bernie visit the Bishop (Anthony Newley) for advice on how to deal with the unwanted baby. Sergeant Slater tries to get the truth out of John. Danny and Lucy talk about their true feelings for each other.
2-9 William Gaminara Roberto Bangura Lucy takes to the stand in court to give her account of the night she was raped. Her evidence reveals to Emma that Danny has been telling her the truth. Peter reacts with fury when he learns of Bernie's affair. Beverly pays a visit to John in jail.
2-10 Joe Ainsworth Roberto Bangura Bernie must choose between Peter and Father Matthew. Danny tries to save his marriage to Emma, in light of Lucy's announcement in court. Chef's comeuppance is imminent.
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