''Anna of the Five Towns'' is a 1985 British

television drama series In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

which first aired on

BBC 2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

. It is an adaptation by

John Harvey John Harvey may refer to: People Academics * John Harvey (astrologer) (1564–1592), English astrologer and physician * John Harvey (architectural historian) (1911–1997), British architectural historian, who wrote on English Gothic architecture ...

of the 1902

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

of the same title by

Arnold Bennett Enoch Arnold Bennett (27 May 1867 – 27 March 1931) was an English author, best known as a novelist. He wrote prolifically: between the 1890s and the 1930s he completed 34 novels, seven volumes of short stories, 13 plays (some in collaboratio ...

.Baskin p.210

Cast

* Lynsey Beauchamp as Anna Tellwright (4 episodes) * Anne Blackman as Beatrice Sutton (4 episodes) * Katie Carey as Agnes Tellwright (4 episodes) *

Anna Cropper Anna Cropper (also Roache; 13 May 1938 – 22 January 2007) was an English stage and television actress. Early years Cropper was born in Brierfield, Lancashire, the daughter of Margaret, a stage actress and director, and Jack Cropper, a dentis ...

as Mrs. Sutton (4 episodes) *

Peter Davison Peter Malcolm Gordon Moffett (born 13 April 1951), known professionally as Peter Davison, is an English actor with many credits in television dramas and sitcoms. He made his television acting debut in 1975 and became famous in 1978 as Tristan ...

as Henry Mynors (4 episodes) *

Emrys James Robert Emrys James (1 September 1928 – 5 February 1989) was a Welsh Shakespearean actor. He also performed in many theatre and TV parts between 1960 and 1989, and was an Associate Artist of the Royal Shakespeare Company. He was born in Machyn ...

as Ephraim Tellwright (4 episodes) * John Bott as Rev. Banks (3 episodes) *

Edward Kelsey Edward Harry Kelsey (4 June 193023 April 2019) was an English actor. He was best known for voicing the role of Joe Grundy for 34 years in ''The Archers'' on BBC Radio 4 and for voicing various other characters on television. Early Life and ca ...

as Titus Price (3 episodes) *

Anton Lesser Anton Lesser (born 14 February 1952) is an English actor. He is well known for his roles as Qyburn in the HBO series '' Game of Thrones'', as Thomas More in ''Wolf Hall'', as Prime Minister Harold Macmillan in ''The Crown'', as Prime Ministe ...

as Willie Price (3 episodes) *

Hilary Mason Hilary Lavender Mason (4 September 1917 – 5 September 2006) was an English character actress who appeared in a wide variety of roles, mainly on UK television. Mason was born in Birmingham and trained at the London School of Dramatic Art ...

as Sarah Vodrey (3 episodes) * Barrie Cookson as Mr. Sutton (2 episodes) * Patricia Marks as Miss Dickinson (2 episodes * Iain Ormsby-Knox as Policeman (2 episodes) * Georgia Allen as Milkmaid (1 episode) * Wilfred Grove as Revivalist (1 episode) * John Lancaster as Searcher (1 episode) * Geoffrey Larder as Coroner (1 episode) *

Michael Lees Michael Lees (17 May 1922 – 23 March 1993) was a British soldier and member of the Special Operations Executive during World War II, who operated behind enemy lines supporting Italian and Yugoslavian partisan forces. The chief planner of Opera ...

as Mr. Lovatt (1 episode) *

Bruce Purchase Bruce Purchase (2 October 1938 – 5 June 2008) was a New Zealand actor known for his roles on stage and television. Born in Thames, New Zealand, he won a scholarship to study acting in England, training at RADA, and went on to become a foundin ...

as Tom Kelly (1 episode) * Chris Sanders as Dr. Henderson (1 episode) * Keith Smith as Bank clerk (1 episode)

References

Bibliography

*Ellen Baskin. ''Serials on British Television, 1950-1994''. Scolar Press, 1996.

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0320822 BBC television dramas 1985 British television series debuts 1985 British television series endings 1980s British drama television series 1980s British television miniseries English-language television shows Television shows based on British novels