|  UK
/ BBC1 / 65x50m-e /
1985-90
Creators: Gerard Glaister,
Allan Prior / Music: Simon May / Producer: Gerard Glaister
Creators: John Whitney and Geoffrey Bellman / Producer: Stella Richman
Drama series. A
mainstay of Sunday night prime time for most of the late 1980's and
Britains answer to the glossy super soaps of America such as Dallas and
Dynasty, Howard's Way stars Maurice Colbourne as Tom Howard who at the
series start has just won a major sailing trophy but has also just been
made redundant from his design job with Southern Aviation. Tom, much to
the dismay of his wife Jan (Jan Harvey), decides to sink his golden
handshake pay off into a partnership with boat builder Jack Rolfe.
Tom and
Jan are resolutely middle class with a comfortable lifestyle in coastal
town Tarrant (real life Bursledon) and have two grown up children the
sailing obsessed and show sexpot Lynne Howard (Tracey Childs) and
somewhat wimpy Leo who wants to give up the chance to go to University
to make his own way. Like any good soaper the emphasis is on big
business and relationships generally of the extra marital kind, Tom is
soon falling for Jack's daughter Avril whilst Jan is soon fighting off
the attentions of the slimy Ken Masters (brilliantly played by Stephen
Yardley), big business is provided by the antics of Charles Frere (the
man Ken Masters would like to be) - linked to the Howard's by Jan's best
friend Polly Urquhart whose husband Gerald is Frere's right hand man. By
the time the series ended in 1990 everybody had slept with everybody
else and the show even survived the real life death of Maurice Colbourne
in 1989. The popular theme tune was by The Simon May Orchestra and
singer Marti Webb took a vocal rendition into the top 20 in 1986.
cast
MAURICE COLBOURNE as Tom Howard / JAN HARVEY as Jan Howard / TRACEY
CHILDS as Lynne Howard / EDWARD HIGHMORE as Leo Howard / SUSAN GILMORE
as Avril Rolfe / GLYN OWEN as Jack Rolfe / DULCIE GRAY as Kate Harvey /
TONY ANHOLT as Charles Frere / IVOR DANVERS as Gerald Urquhart /
CINDY SHELLEY as Abby Urquhart / KATE O'MARA as Laura Wilde / STEPHEN
YARDLEY as Ken Masters
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