That's Love

That's Love
Format	Sitcom
Created by	Terence Frisby
Starring	Jimmy Mulville, Diana Hardcastle
No. of episodes	26
Production
Executive producer(s)	Sarah Lawson
Producer(s)	TVS/Taft Entertainment
Running time	30mins
Broadcast
Original channel	ITV
Original run	19 January 1988 – 24 March 1992

That's Love is a British television sitcom about the domestic problems of a young married couple, lawyer Donald (Mulville) and designer Patsy (Hardcastle).

Contents 1 Plot 2 History 3 Cast 4 Trivia 5 References 6 External links

Plot

Series One and Two are fairly straightforward sitcom fare, with very little in the way of story arcs or connecting episodes. Much of the comedic content is concentrated on Donald and Patsy continuing to learn about one another despite several years together. In the first episode Donald discovers his wife has not told him the whole truth concerning her life before they married - specifically, how many previous sexual partners she has had. The last episode of the second series reveals that, despite appearances from their photograph album, Donald and Patsy are not actually married.

The third series focuses on an affair between Donald and his client Laurel (Liza Goddard), which unfortunately kicks off just after Patsy and Donald finally tie the knot, leading to their visiting a marriage guidance counsellor in the first episode of the fourth and final series. The counsellor, Tristan Beasley (Slattery), falls in love with Patsy, and they embark on an affair, but Patsy, realising she doesn't feel the same way about Tristan, ends the relationship. In the final moment of the series Patsy runs to Donald's arms, apologising to him for what she has done - it is left up to the viewer to decide whether the couple's marriage is doomed or they may be able to rescue their relationship.

History

Four series were made, produced by Humphrey Barclay and directed by John Stroud. All 26 episodes were written by Terence Frisby, and it was executive produced by Sarah Lawson.

Cast

• Jimmy Mulville - Donald Redfern
• Diana Hardcastle - Patsy Redfern
• Lynne Pearson - Amanda Owen
• Liza Goddard - Laurel Manasotti
• Tony Slattery - Tristan Beasley
• Phyllida Law - Babs
• Ralph Nossek - Victor
• Vivienne McKone - Olive
• Neil Pearson - Gary (series 2-4)
• Rob Spendlove - Gary (series 1)
• Nicolas Colicos - Hank
• Robin Meredith - Geoffrey

Trivia

• Diana Hardcastle had given birth to her first child, Alice May Wilkinson (Diana is married to actor Tom Wilkinson) prior to beginning filming of the second series - Alice is credited in the series playing the baby son of the Redfern's friends Amanda and Gary.
• Diana continued to film the fourth series despite suffering from chickenpox - at the time she was pregnant with her second daughter Molly.

References

• Taylor, Rod (1994) The Guinness Book of Sitcoms Guinness. ISBN 0-85112-638-3
• TVTimes Magazine, 1992 (feature on the first episode of the fourth series)

External links

• That's Love at the Internet Movie Database

John Stroud - Obituary Notice

Guardian Obituary of John Stroud

Sarah Lawson Films The Dawning (1988) • Grace O'Malley (2009) Television You Again? (1986) • That's Love (1988) • Life After Life (1988) • Seekers (1992) • Natural Lies (1992) • The Only Way Out (1993) • The Man Who Made Husbands Jealous (1997) Radio Baldi (2000) Short Films The Rope Trick (1998)