Love Hurts (BBC-1 1992-1994, Adam Faith, Zoe Wanamaker)

Created by the legendary Maurice Gran and Laurence Marks (of Shine on Harvey Moon fame) Love Hurts when it first appeared on our screens in 1992 felt like a proper grown up series, in the sense that it was a show about a relationship with all its ups and downs that didn’t need to rely on gimmicks or sensationalist storylines.

At the series start Tessa Piggott (Zoe Wanamaker) has just ditched both her high flying city job and her lover (who just happens to be her boss) and taken up a new post with third world development agency SEED, the last thing she is looking for is another relationship but plumber turned millionaire businessman Frank Carver has other ideas. He falls hard for Tessa and much of the first season sees the two getting to know each other but not quite willing to commit in fact at the end of the season it looks like they are going to go there separate ways;

Season two picks things up six months later a business deal brings Frank and Tessa closer together once more and whilst on a business trip to Russia Tessa realises how much she loves Frank (spurred on in part by Franks working relationship with his attractive Russian colleague Marisha (Joanna Kanska) and the pair decide to get married. Back in England the realities of married life hits them but most of their energies are directed into setting up a Foundation to help Russian orphans;

In the third and final season Frank and Tessa have a little arrival and have to cope with being middle aged parents and over the course of the season the pair realise that their futures may just not lie with each other…

A first rate and very enjoyable series, it was unusual at the time to have a romantic drama series featuring two older characters and there is a great chemistry between Adam Faith and Zoe Wanamaker that really adds to the enjoyment of the show.

The theme tune is called Love Hurts but is not the Bourdeaux-Bryant classic.

production details
UK / BBC One – Alamo – SelecTV / 30×50 minute episodes / Broadcast 3 January 1992 – 18 March 1994

Creators: Laurence Marks, Maurice Gran / Music: Alan Hawkshaw / Theme Sung by Peter Polycarpou / Script Editor: Devora Pope / Executive Producer: Allan McKeown, Maurice Gran

cast
ADAM FAITH as Frank Carver
ZOE WANAMAKER as Tessa Piggott
JANE LAPOTAIRE as Diane Warbury
TONY SELBY as Max Taplow
STEPHEN MOORE as Hugh Marriner
SUZANNE BERTISH as Mirav Levison