Let’s meet The ‘more modern’ Larkins....

It’s set in the late 1950s, but there’s a chance that the new period drama The Larkins will also make viewers feel nostalgic for the early 1990s, when ITV brought us The Darling Buds of May, starring David Jason and Pam Ferris.

Like The Larkins, it was based on the books by HE Bates about a loving, unconventional family who have created their own rural idyll, and is probably best remember now as the show that made Catherine Zeta-Jones a household name and a tabloid favourite. (Well, in Britain at least, although she later conquered Hollywood and won an Oscar.)

However, the team behind The Larkins are keen to stress that the new series isn’t just a remake of the previous adaptation.

Executive produce Sophie Clarke-Jervoise says: “This version of The Larkins is really a much more modern take on the original source material. I know Simon Nye who has written the scripts wanted to have clear water between the two.”

And luckily, they’ve found a cast who should make it easier for the viewers to get the original out of their head. It’s not everyone who could take on a role previously played by all-round national treasure David Jason, but if anyone can do it, it’s Bradley Walsh.

The actor and presenter, who can also currently be seen making another much-loved show, Blankety Blank, his own over on BBC One on Saturdays, thinks that while it may hark back to the past, The Larkins is perfectly timed.

He says: “This is a big family values show – this is about caring, worrying and loving your nearest and dearest. Which in these strange and worrying times we’ve all had recently seems to be more prevalent and has become more important than ever. I think the pandemic has brought a lot of people closer together and they’ve realised how much they miss people in their lives and to stop rushing around, stop chasing and spend more time with your family.”

He also hopes we’ll want to spend time with his character. He says: “Pop Larkin is the kind of man you’d like to spend a day, an evening, a weekend with in the pub, if you want anything he can get it, he’s always looking for a deal, and why not. He cares about his family, he loves his family being around him, he loves the fact that he’s the sort of Dad you’d have wanted as well, for example he lets his kids drive this truck!

“He is a genuinely, genuinely nice man, there’s not a bad bone in his body.”

We get an introduction to him and his clan in this first episode, as Pop and Ma (Joanna Scanlan) are looking forward to the May Day Fair. Unfortunately, there are some clouds on the Larkins’ horizon as taxman Cedric (Tok Stephen) comes calling, and daughter Mariette (Bridgerton’s Sabrina Bartlett, in the role that made Zeta-Jones a star) has some bombshell news.

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