Bergerac: The Lohans (BBC-1 9 Mar 1991, with Katherine Fahy)

In The Lohans Rosa Zeenak asks Jim to act as a minder to a very valuable set of porcelain figures (The Lohans of the title) she has for sale. It’s a set of 16 figures that were stolen some years before (although Jim doesn’t know this) and hardline collector John Kelp wants them badly – however he is not prepared to pay the 1.8 million pounds asking price. He arranges for one of his men to break into Rosa’s, shooting Jim with a tranquilliser dart in the process. However Rosa had hidden one of the figure so he only gets away with 15 of the 16 figures.

Rosa persuades Jim to use the final figure as a bargaining piece with Kelp but when he meets Kelp he tells him the figure is a fake. Jim tries to get to the bottom of just what is going on and asks Lohan expert Gervaise to authenticate the piece he has. Gervaise passes him on to his colleague Mary Chester who confirms that the Lohan is genuine. Things get decidedly problematic when Mary turns up dead.

Meanwhile Jim doesn’t know he is being tailed by Ben Lomas. Inspector Deffand has got wise to Charlie’s interest in The Lohans (he is part of a syndicate that is also interested in bidding on the figures), once Jim finds out Ben is involved the two of them team up. There is then something of a showdown, involving Rosa, Charlie and Danielle, as well as Jim at Kelp’s country estate.

This is actually the final series episode although there is still one final feature length special to go. It’s actually a slice of classic Bergerac to finish the series off. At this stage Jim and Danielle are very much together and Jim also manages to make a fool of Deffand.

production details
UK / BBC One / 1×50 minute episode / Broadcast 9 March 1991

Writer: Peter Palliser / Director: Terry Green

Series: Bergerac Season 9 Episode 10

cast
John Nettles as Jim Bergerac
Terence Alexander as Charlie Hungerford
Therese Liotard as Danielle
David Kershaw as Ben Lomas
John Telfer as Willy Pettit
Roger Sloman as Inspector Deffand
Katherine Fahy as Rosa Zeenak
Billy Murray as John Kelp
Cindy O’Callaghan as Mary Chester
Phil Smeeton as Michael Younger
Henry Moxon as Alfred Child
Bill Thomas as Gervaise
Emma Shaw as Heather