Hadleigh: Bloodline (ITV 19 Mar 1976, with Suzanne Roquette)

In Bloodline the touchy issue of a son and heir raises it’s difficult head, Helen is worried that with the breakdown of James’s marriage to Jennifer he will never become a father, although for the male of the species it’s never really too late of course. The conversation does give him some serious pause for thought though. If he doesn’t produce an heir Melford Park will end up in the hands of the government after his death.

Hadleigh is also still extremely worried about raising the money to ensure he doesn’t lose Melford. Joanna, though, may have discovered the perfect thing to help. A share issue dating back to the eighteenth century – a wedding gift to one of Hadleigh’s ancestors who married into a wealthy German family. If still valid the shares could be worth an absolute fortune to Hadleigh. So long as there is no one else still alive on the German side of the line that is. A trip to Germany to see where he stands Hadleigh meets and is rather taken with Elfreda von Hermsdorff, the sister of a Horse contact of James.

Sadly for James there is a German heir that is actually entitled to the shares ahead of him, an elderly lady and her son.

Interesting that we are only three episodes in and James is already looking to move on from Jennifer, he clearly knows in his heart that it’s really over. Not that it is anything more than a new acquaintance – James is too much of a gentleman for anything else.

This season the exterior scenes at Melford are being shot on videotape for the first time rather than the usual film. Around the middle of the decade lighter weight video cameras were becoming available, it made for a much quicker turnaround.

production details
UK / ITV – Yorkshire / 1×50 minute episode / Broadcast Friday 19 March 1976 at 9.00pm

Writer: Peter Whitbread / Production Design: Vic Symonds / Director: Derek Bennett

Series: Hadleigh Season 4 Episode 3

cast
Gerald Harper as Jamess Hadleigh
Jenny Twigge as Joanna Roberts
Peter Dennis as Sutton
Ambrosine Phillpotts as Lady Helen
Joseph Greig as Tedbut
Gary Waldhorn as Werner von Hermsdorff
John Quayle as John Cousins
Suzanne Roquette as Elfreda von Hermsdorff
Milo Sperber as Herr Wester
Eric Pohlmann as Herr von Menck
Irene Prador as Fraulein Giesecke