''Hold the Dream'' is a British two-part serial made in 1986, based on the 1985 novel of the same name by

Barbara Taylor Bradford Barbara Taylor Bradford (born 10 May 1933) is a best-selling British-American novelist. Her debut novel, '' A Woman of Substance'', was published in 1979 and sold over 30 million copies worldwide. She wrote 39 novels, all bestsellers in Englan ...

. It is the second book in the Emma Harte series, following '' A Woman of Substance''. ''Hold the Dream'' continues the story of

Emma Harte Emma Harte is the protagonist of Barbara Taylor Bradford's 1979 novel '' A Woman of Substance''. In the 1984 TV mini-series, the character was played by actresses Deborah Kerr and Jenny Seagrove. Emma Harte's story begins as a maid at Fairley Hall ...

, played by

Deborah Kerr Deborah Jane Trimmer CBE (30 September 192116 October 2007), known professionally as Deborah Kerr (), was a British actress. She was nominated six times for the Academy Award for Best Actress. During her international film career, Kerr won a G ...

, with

Jenny Seagrove Jennifer Ann Seagrove (born 4 July 1957) is an English actress. She trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and first came to attention playing the lead in a television dramatisation of Barbara Taylor Bradford's '' A Woman of Substance'' ...

, who played the young Emma taking over the part of Paula Fairley.

Plot

Paula Fairley, now head of the Harte chain of department stores, has taken on the burden of preserving Emma's legacy. However, she suffers dissent within her extended family, in particular from her devious cousin Jonathan Ainsley. Her marriage to Jim Fairley is unhappy, leading her into the arms of her childhood sweetheart, Shane O'Neill (

Stephen Collins Stephen Weaver Collins (born October 1, 1947) is an American former actor and writer. He is known for playing Eric Camden on the television series '' 7th Heaven'' from 1996 to 2007. Afterwards, Collins played the roles of Dayton King on the ABC t ...

), grandson of Blackie O'Neill (

Liam Neeson William John Neeson (born 7 June 1952) is an actor from Northern Ireland. He has received several accolades, including nominations for an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and two Tony Awards. In 2020, he was placed 7th on ''The I ...

). Struggling to prove herself in a male dominated world, just like her grandmother before her, Paula suffers heartache and loss that mirror the life of her grandmother. Emma's request that Paula hold her dream is what drives Paula to fight and overcome personal tragedy and come out on top, so as to save the Harte name for the next generation.

Cast

as Paula Fairley *

as Shane O'Neill *

as Emma Harte *

James Brolin James Brolin (, born Craig Kenneth Bruderlin; July 18, 1940) is an American actor. Brolin has won two Golden Globes and an Emmy. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on August 27, 1998. He is the father of actor Josh Brolin. He ...

as Ross Nelson *

Claire Bloom Patricia Claire Bloom (born 15 February 1931) is an English actress. She is known for leading roles in plays such as ''A Streetcar Named Desire,'' ''A Doll's House'', and '' Long Day's Journey into Night'', and has starred in nearly sixty film ...

as Edwina, Lady Dunvale *

Paul Daneman Paul Frederick Daneman (29 October 1925 – 28 April 2001) was an English film, television, and theatre actor. He was successful for more than 40 years on stage, film and television. Early life Paul Daneman was born in Islington, London. He att ...

as David Amory *

Fiona Fullerton Fiona Elizabeth Fullerton (born 10 October 1956) is a British actress and singer, known for her role as Alice in the 1972 film ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' and as Bond girl KGB spy Pola Ivanova in the 1985 James Bond film ''A View to a ...

as Skye Smith * Suzanna Hamilton as Emily Barkstone *

Nigel Havers Nigel Allan Havers (born 6 November 1951) is an English actor. His film roles include Lord Andrew Lindsay in the 1981 British film ''Chariots of Fire'', which earned him a BAFTA nomination; as Dr. Rawlins in the 1987 Steven Spielberg war drama ...

as Jim Fairley *

John Mills Sir John Mills (born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills; 22 February 190823 April 2005) was an English actor who appeared in more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades. He excelled on camera as an appealing British everyman who often portray ...

as Henry Rossiter *

as Blackie O'Neill *

Pauline Yates Pauline Lettice Yates (16 June 1929 – 21 January 2015) was an English actress, best known for playing Elizabeth Perrin in the BBC television sitcom ''The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin''. She also starred in '' Bachelor Father'' and '' ...

as Daisy Amory *

Valentine Pelka Valentine Pelka (born 23 February 1956) is an English actor who has starred in film and on television. Biography Pelka was born in Dewsbury, West Riding of Yorkshire, to a Polish civil engineer father and an Irish actress mother, and attended ...

as Winston Harte * Sarah-Jane Varley as Sally Harte * Paul Geoffrey as Anthony, Earl of Dunvale *

Dominic Jephcott Dominic Jephcott (born 1957) is a RADA-trained English actor and writer. He is known for his work in ''The Beiderbecke Affair'', ''The Beiderbecke Connection'', '' Midsomer Murders'', and in '' Holby City'' and ''Casualty'', as the adulterous Doc ...

as Jonathan Ainsley *

Victoria Wicks Victoria Wicks (born Beverly Victoria Anne Wicks; 18 April 1959) is a British actress. She is known for her role as Sally Smedley in Channel 4's comedy series ''Drop the Dead Donkey'' (1990–1998), Mrs. Gideon in ''The Mighty Boosh'' (2004), ...

as Sarah Lowther * David Swift as John Cross *

Nicholas Farrell Nicholas C. Frost (born 1955), known professionally as Nicholas Farrell, is an English stage, film and television actor. Education Farrell was educated at Fryerns Grammar and Technical School in Basildon, Essex, followed by the University of ...

as Sebastian Cross *

Richard Morant Richard Morant (30 October 1945 – 9 November 2011) was an English actor. Biography Morant was born in Shipston-on-Stour, Warwickshire. His father was the Shakespearean actor Philip Morant (1909–1993). His sister is the actress Angela ...

as Malcolm Perring *

Bruce Boa Andrew Bruce Boa (10 July 1930 – 17 April 2004) was a Canadian actor, who found success playing the token American in British films and television, usually playing military types. Boa's most recognizable film role is in ''The Empire Str ...

as Dale Stevens *

Denyse Alexander Denyse Alexander ( Denyse Verena Macpherson ; born 28 June 1931) is a British stage, film and television actress. She was married to the film and television director Jack Gold from 1957 until his death in August 2015. Selected filmography Fil ...

as Gaye Sloane * Amanda Boxer as Minerva * Kate Harper as Elaine Vickers * Christopher Muncke as Sonny Vickers * Ralph Watson as Sam Fellowes

Production

The script was written by Barbara Taylor Bradford herself after the producer had been unhappy with a number of other scripts. She had never written a script before.

Reception

The ''New York Times'', which had liked ''A Woman of Substance'', called this "dreary" and "will no doubt be useful as a future textbook case on how not to make a sequel.""Sequel to 'A Woman of Substance'" by JOHN J. O'CONNOR. ''New York Times'' 27 Oct 1986: C22.

References

External links

* {{Operation Prime Time 1980s British television miniseries Channel 4 original programming 1986 British television series debuts Films directed by Don Sharp 1986 British television series endings 1980s business films Operation Prime Time Television shows based on British novels English-language television shows Television shows set in the United Kingdom Television shows set in the United States