''Hold the Sunset'' is a
British television
Regular television broadcasts in the United Kingdom started in 1936 as a public service which was free of advertising, which followed the first demonstration of a transmitted moving image in 1926. Currently, the United Kingdom has a collection ...
sitcom
A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...
first broadcast on
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...
on 18 February 2018. When first announced, it had the working title ''Edith''.
Premise
The plot revolves around two
retire
Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload.
Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...
d neighbours, Phil (Cleese) and Edith (Steadman), who live in
Stoke Poges
Stoke Poges () is a village and civil parish in south-east Buckinghamshire, England. It is centred north-north-east of Slough, its post town, and southeast of Farnham Common.
Etymology
In the name Stoke Poges, ''stoke'' means " stockaded (p ...
,
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...
(although filming is largely in and around
Richmond, London
Richmond is a town in south-west London,The London Government Act 1963 (c.33) (as amended) categorises the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames as an Outer London borough. Although it is on both sides of the River Thames, the Boundary Commiss ...
). They are both widowed and planning to start a new life together in
Gozo
Gozo (, ), Maltese: ''Għawdex'' () and in antiquity known as Gaulos ( xpu, 𐤂𐤅𐤋, ; grc, Γαῦλος, Gaúlos), is an island in the Maltese archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. The island is part of the Republic of Malta. After t ...
. Those plans are scuppered when Edith's 49-year-old son Roger (Watkins), moves back into his mother's house after walking out on his wife and their two teenage children.
Cast
*
Alison Steadman
Alison Steadman (born 26 August 1946) is an English actress. She received the 1991 National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress for the Mike Leigh film '' Life Is Sweet'' and the 1993 Olivier Award for Best Actress for her role as Ma ...
– Edith
*
John Cleese
John Marwood Cleese ( ; born 27 October 1939) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Emerging from the Cambridge Footlights in the 1960s, he first achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and ...
– Phil, Edith's boyfriend
*
Jason Watkins
Jason Watkins (born 28 October 1962) is an English stage, film and television actor. He played the lead role in the two-part drama ''The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies'', for which he won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actor. He has also ...
– Roger, Edith's son
*
Rosie Cavaliero
Rosalind Cecilia Cavaliero (born 27 November 1967) is a Brazilian-born English actress. She has appeared in numerous television roles.
Filmography
Theatre work
* ''Dracula'' at the Everyman, Cheltenham – Florrie (February 1995)
* ''Airswi ...
– Wendy, Roger's wife
*
Joanna Scanlan
Joanna Marion Scanlan (born 27 October 1961) is a British actress. On television, she is known for her roles in British series such as ''The Thick of It'' (2005–2012), '' Getting On'' (2009–2012), ''Puppy Love'' (2014), and ''No Offence'' ( ...
– Sandra, Edith's daughter
*
Anne Reid
Anne Reid, MBE (born 28 May 1935) is a British stage, film and television actress, known for her roles as Valerie Barlow in the soap opera '' Coronation Street'' (1961–1971); Jean in the sitcom '' dinnerladies'' (1998–2000); and her role ...
– Queenie, Edith's cleaner
*
James Cosmo
James Ronald Gordon Copeland , known professionally as James Cosmo (b. 1947), is a Scottish film and television actor known for his appearances in films including '' Highlander'', ''Braveheart'', ''Trainspotting'', ''Jagame Thandhiram'', ''Tro ...
– Bob, Edith's