Down to Earth (2000 TV series)
Down to Earth was a light-hearted BBC One television drama series first broadcast in 2000 about a couple who start a new life on a Devon farm. The early episodes of the series were based on a series of books written by Faith Addis about their real-life move from London to Devon.
| Down to Earth | |
|---|---|
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| Created by | Ashley Pharoah |
| Starring | Warren Clarke Pauline Quirke Ellie Beaven Toby Ross-Bryant Alexandra Stone Angela Griffin Ian Kelsey Inga Brooksby Thomas Byrne Charlotte Redpath Ricky Tomlinson Denise Welch Zara Dawson Shelley Conn Elizabeth Bennett Ram John Holder Finn Atkins Robert James-Collier Marc Ryan-Jordan |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 5 |
| No. of episodes | 40 |
| Production | |
| Running time | approx. 60 mins |
| Release | |
| Original network | BBC One |
| Original release | 28 August 2000 – 6 March 2005 |
The music in the series was composed by Sheridan Tongue and Tony Hadley, and had the song "After All this Time" as its opening and closing credits in series 2 and 3.
Plot
The first series starred Pauline Quirke as Faith Addis, a teacher, and Warren Clarke as her long-suffering husband Brian, as they encountered various misfortunes and difficulties in adjusting to their new rural lifestyle, which is not helped by their uncooperative children's attitude to moving to a new location. The series was generally light in tone, although took a tragic turn following Brian's death in a road accident in series three.
In 2003 the Addis family leave the farm for good. They are replaced by the Brewer family. Matt Brewer (Ian Kelsey) is Brian's cousin. He leaves the big city with his young new wife Frankie (Angela Griffin) and his three children from his first marriage to move to Devon to take over the farm.
Two years later the Brewer family moved back to the city and were replaced by Jackie (Denise Welch), Tony Murphy (Ricky Tomlinson), and their wayward daughter Emma (Zara Dawson), who owned the local pub. The 5th and final series was broadcast from 2 January 2005 to 6 March 2005.
Cast
- Pauline Quirke – Faith Addis
- Warren Clarke – Brian Addis
- Toby Ross-Bryant – Marcus Addis
- Ellie Beaven – Sarah Addis
- Alexandra Stone – Molly Addis
- Katy Reeves – Celeste Addis
- Pat Keen – Addy Addis (mother-in-law)
- Ian Kelsey – Matt Brewer
- Angela Griffin – Frankie Brewer
- Ram John Holder – Wilson Steadman
- Elizabeth Bennett – Daphne Brewer
- Inga Brooksby – Becky Brewer
- Charlotte Redpath – Lucy Brewer
- Finn Atkins – Kate Cooper
- Thomas Byrne – Sam Brewer
- Denise Welch – Jackie Murphy
- Zara Dawson – Emma Murphy
- Liam Hess – Jake Smith
- Shelley Conn – Kerry Jamil
- Ricky Tomlinson -Tony Murphy
- Jason West – Adam / Mose
- Sally Watts – Laura Carter
- Robert James-Collier – Nick Christy
- Marc Ryan-Jordan – Ryan Cooper
Episodes
| Series | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | |||
| 1 | 6 | 28 August 2000 | 1 October 2000 | |
| 2 | 8 | 2 September 2001 | 21 October 2001 | |
| 3 | 8 | 2 February 2003 | 23 March 2003 | |
| 4 | 8 | 4 January 2004 | 22 February 2004 | |
| 5 | 10 | 2 January 2005 | 6 March 2005 | |
Series 1 (2000)
| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | UK viewers (millions) [1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "The Great Escape" | Ashley Pearce | Ashley Pharoah | 28 August 2000 | 9.98 |
| 2 | 2 | "In at the Deep End" | Ashley Pearce | Helen Slavin | 3 September 2000 | 7.87 |
| 3 | 3 | "O Best Beloved…" | Ashley Pearce | Helen Slavin | 10 September 2000 | 7.15 |
| 4 | 4 | "Do As You Would Be Do Be By" | Ashley Pearce | Helen Slavin | 17 September 2000 | 7.20 |
| 5 | 5 | "Kingdom for a Horse" | Ashley Pearce | Helen Slavin | 24 September 2000 | 8.01 |
| 6 | 6 | "A Field of Dreams" | Ashley Pearce | Ashley Pharoah | 1 October 2000 | 7.93 |
Series 2 (2001)
| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | UK viewers (millions) [1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 1 | "Great Expectations" | Juliet May | Ashley Pharoah | 2 September 2001 | 7.18 |
| 8 | 2 | "Wild Life" | Juliet May | Helen Slavin | 9 September 2001 | 7.19 |
| 9 | 3 | "A Time To Live" | Juliet May | Suzie Smith | 16 September 2001 | 7.51 |
| 10 | 4 | "Rites and Wrongs" | Indra Bhose | Georgia Pritchett | 23 September 2001 | 7.58 |
| 11 | 5 | "The Final Straw" | Indra Bhose | Suzie Smith | 30 September 2001 | 8.86 |
| 12 | 6 | "Home Truths" | Indra Bhose | Ashley Pharoah | 7 October 2001 | 7.61 |
| 13 | 7 | "The Lie of the Land" | Claire Windyard | Helen Slavin | 14 October 2001 | 7.28 |
| 14 | 8 | "Gone But Not Forgotten" | Claire Windyard | Georgia Pritchett | 21 October 2001 | 7.15 |
Series 3 (2003)
| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | UK viewers (millions) [1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | 1 | "All Together Now" | Juliet May | Ashley Pharoah | 2 February 2003 | 8.04 |
| 16 | 2 | "Faith" | Juliet May | Simon Sharkey | 9 February 2003 | 8.12 |
| 17 | 3 | "The Last Dance" | Frank W. Smith | David Joss Buckley | 16 February 2003 | 7.28 |
| 18 | 4 | "Moving On" | Frank W. Smith | Alan Whiting | 23 February 2003 | 7.81 |
| 19 | 5 | "Cat on a Bonfire" | Michael Cocker | James Wood | 2 March 2003 | 8.01 |
| 20 | 6 | "The Poseidon Effect" | Michael Cocker | Leslie Stewart | 9 March 2003 | 6.68 |
| 21 | 7 | "Honesty"[2] | Rob Evans | Suzie Smith | 16 March 2003 | 6.39 |
| 22 | 8 | "High Hopes" | Rob Evans | David Joss Buckley | 23 March 2003 | 6.34 |
Series 4 (2004)
| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | UK viewers (millions) [1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 | 1 | "Still Waters" | Simon Meyers | Peter Gibbs | 4 January 2004 | 7.48 |
| 24 | 2 | "Seeing is Believing" | Simon Meyers | Jane Hollowood | 11 January 2004 | 7.13 |
| 25 | 3 | "Fate and Fortune" | Simon Meyers | Susan Wilkins | 18 January 2004 | 7.12 |
| 26 | 4 | "Can’t Buy You Love" | Simon Meyers | Joe Fraser | 25 January 2004 | 7.27 |
| 27 | 5 | "Family Ties" | Simon Massey | Susan Watkins | 1 February 2004 | 7.17 |
| 28 | 6 | "Best Laid Plans" | Simon Massey | Stuart Morris | 8 February 2004 | 6.84 |
| 29 | 7 | "First Love" | Dominic Keavey | Peter Gibbs | 15 February 2004 | 7.03 |
| 30 | 8 | "Unfinished Business" | Doninic Keavey | Peter Gibbs | 22 February 2004 | 6.75 |
Series 5 (2005)
| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | UK viewers (millions) [1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 | 1 | "Sisterly Feelings" | Dominic Keavey | Peter Gibbs | 2 January 2005 | 5.59 |
| 32 | 2 | "Cowboys" | Doninic Keavey | Stuart Morris | 9 January 2005 | 5.57 |
| 33 | 3 | "Ignorance Is Bliss" | Terry Iland | Jane Hollowood | 16 January 2005 | 5.40 |
| 34 | 4 | "Dangerous Liaisons" | Terry Iland | Susan Watkins | 23 January 2005 | 5.48 |
| 35 | 5 | "Changes" | Paul Kousoulides | Susan Oudot | 30 January 2005 | 5.10 |
| 36 | 6 | "Say Hello, Say Goodbye" | Paul Kousoulides | Suzie Smith | 6 February 2005 | 5.38 |
| 37 | 7 | "Broken Dreams" | Dominic Keavey | Susan Oudot | 13 February 2005 | 5.12 |
| 38 | 8 | "Hot Air" | Dominic Keavey | Johanne McAndrew | 20 February 2005 | 5.91 |
| 39 | 9 | "Tall Tales" | Simon Massey | Johanne McAndrew | 27 February 2005 | 5.44 |
| 40 | 10 | "Trouble 'n' Strife" | Simon Massey | Joe Ainsworth | 6 March 2005 | 5.35 |
Ratings
| Series | Timeslot | No. of episodes |
First aired | Last aired | Rank | Avg. viewers (millions) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Viewers (millions) |
Date | Viewers (millions) | |||||
| 1 | Monday 9:00 pm (1) Sunday 8:10 pm (2) • 8:30 pm (3, 5, 6) • 8:00 pm (4) |
6 | 28 August 2000 | 9.98[1] | 1 October 2000 | 7.93[1] | 9 | 8.02 |
| 2 | Sunday 8:00 pm | 8 | 2 September 2001 | 7.18[1] | 21 October 2001 | 7.15[1] | 12 | 7.55 |
| 3 | 8 | 2 February 2003 | 8.04[1] | 23 March 2003 | 6.34[1] | 13 | 7.33 | |
| 4 | 8 | 4 January 2004 | 7.48[1] | 22 February 2004 | 6.75[1] | 11 | 7.10 | |
| 5 | 10 | 2 January 2005 | 5.59[1] | 6 March 2005 | 5.35[1] | 18 | 5.43 | |
DVD release
Down to Earth: Series One was released on DVD via Acorn Media on 1 June 2009.[3] No further series have not been made available.
See also
- Forever Green (ITV series with very similar theme)
References
- "Weekly top 30 programmes on TV sets (July 1998 – Sept 2018)". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
- BBC – Radio Times – Down to Earth: Honesty
- "Down To Earth - Series 1 [DVD] [2000]". amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 26 February 2023.