Lark Rise To Candleford: Trailer, certificate and where to watch
Coming-of-age for a 19th-century girl working as a country postmistress
Year: 2008-2011
Certificate: 12
Flora Thompson's charmingly nostalgic memoirs of her idyllic childhood in rural Oxfordshire in the late 19th century (published as a trilogy from 1939 onwards), were brought to the screen in four series of this well-appointed, genteel period drama.
We follow country girl Laura Timmins (Olivia Hallinan) as she leaves the hamlet of Lark Rise to work in the post office in the market town of Candleford, under the wing of her bubbly cousin, the postmistress Dorcas Lane (Julia Sawalha).
The pair are soon best friends, facing life's ups and downs in a world of contrasts - rich and poor, town and country, old and new. Filmed on a specially built and rather stunning set, this is a whimsical portrait of a long-lost England, awash with charm and colour - and it feels a long way from the murky shades of grey that mark the visual style of more recent period dramas. Liz Smith, Linda Bassett, Dawn French and Olivia Grant also star. (Four series)
