Ball Trap On The Cote Sauvage (BBC-1 1989 with Jack Shepherd and Miranda Richardson)

UK / BBC-1 (for Screen One)/ 1×85 minute episode / Broadcast 27 December 1989

Writer: Andrew Davies / Music: Richard Hartley / Production Design: John Bone / Producer: Sue Birtwhistle / Director: Jack Gold

Series: Screen One / Season 1 Episode 8

In comedy drama Ball Trap on the Cote Sauvage the Marriot family’s camping holiday in the South of France at the “Brit Camp” section of the Horizon camping ground takes a series of disastrous turns especially once the enigmatic Early Bird and her secret bearing husband arrive on the scene.

Typically Davies with its voyeuristic overtones, almost at times like a homage to Mike Leigh’s Nuts in May and full of scintillating dialogue and everywhere the scent of sex. There is a fabulous cast on board too, Jack Shepherd and Zoe Wanamaker as the Marriots are the initially calm centre around which everyone else journeys into the surreal but Miranda Richardson and Michael Kitchen steal things with their clearly insane double act.

Quite a bit of the production was filmed in Cornwall and the drama was part of the BBC’s Screen One strand of high quality shot on film productions of the late 80′s and early 90′s.

cast
JACK SHEPHERD as Joe Marriot
ZOE WANAMAKER as Sarah Marriot
MIRANDA RICHARDSON as Early Bird
MICHAEL KITCHEN as Smiley Face
JAMES GROVES as Tom Marriot
KATERINA HADJIMATHEOU as Lisa Marriot
VICTORIA SHALET as Anna
AMY MELHUISH as Cloe
TIMOTHY KIGHTLEY as as Prat
PETER HOWITT as Topless
NICHOLAS BARNES as Paul Britcamp
SARAH SMART as Nadine
ERIKA HOFFMAN as Mrs Topless
EDWARD HOLMES as James
LINAL HAFT as Mr In The Trade
JANE WOOD as Mrs In The Trade
DAVE ATKINS as Fatty Granada
ANNIE HAYES as Mrs Prat
VICTORIA HASTED as Hilary
LOUIS EMERICK as Fitness
LIZ WHITING as Mrs Fitness
TERRY SUE PATT as Young Fitness

back to UK TV Drama Guide