''Mother Love'' is a 1989

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

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 ...

drama. It was adapted by Andrew Davies from Domini Taylor's (

Roger Longrigg Roger Erskine Longrigg (1 May 1929 – 26 February 2000) was a prolific British novelist. As well as publishing some books under his own name, he principally wrote popular novels in a wide range of different styles, using different pseudonyms for ...

's) 1983 novel concerning a mother's obsessive love for her son, vengeful hatred of his father, her ex-husband, and the effect on her daughter-in-law and grandchildren. It starred

Diana Rigg Dame Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg (20 July 193810 September 2020) was an English actress of stage and screen. Her roles include Emma Peel in the TV series '' The Avengers'' (1965–1968); Countess Teresa di Vicenzo, wife of James Bond, in '' On H ...

David McCallum David Keith McCallum Jr. (born 19 September 1933) is a Scottish actor and musician. He first gained recognition in the 1960s for playing secret agent Illya Kuryakin in the television series ''The Man from U.N.C.L.E''. In recent years, McCallum ...

James Wilby James Jonathon Wilby (born 20 February 1958) is an English actor. Early life and education Wilby was born in Rangoon, Burma to a corporate executive father. He was educated at Terrington Hall School, North Yorkshire and Sedbergh School in Cu ...

, and

Fiona Gillies Fiona Gillies (born 19 June 1966) is a British actress who has appeared in feature films, on television and the stage. She first appeared in the 1988 version of ''The Hound of the Baskervilles'' as Beryl Stapleton. A year later she appeared in ...

, and was directed by Simon Langton. Christopher "Kit" Vesey (

) and Angela Vesey (

), a British yuppie couple, enjoy a seemingly idyllic life. Yet there is one troubling factor in their lives - Kit's mother Helena (

), an eccentric and often difficult woman consumed by anger with Kit's father (

), a famed conductor with whom she believes Kit has no contact. Her oddness is confirmed in a series of incidents involving her ex-husband and his second wife Ruth (

Isla Blair Isla Blair Glover (born 29 September 1944) is a British actress and singer. She made her first stage appearance in 1963 as Philia in the London debut of '' A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum''. Early life and education Isla Blair w ...

), an artist. Flashbacks throughout the series reveal bits of Helena's troubled past. Little by little, the young couple's life begins to fall apart as Helena begins to act out her feelings of intense jealousy and desire for

revenge Revenge is committing a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived. Francis Bacon described revenge as a kind of "wild justice" that "does... offend the law ndputteth the law out of office." Pr ...

, implicating a dear old friend and leading to

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

Cast

as Helena *

as Kit *

as Alex *

as Angela *

as Ruth *

James Grout James David Grout (22 October 1927 – 24 June 2012) was an English actor of radio and television. Early life Grout was born in London, the son of Beatrice Anne and William Grout. He trained to be an actor at RADA. Career His BBC Radio 4 appear ...

as George Batt *

Liliana Komorowska Liliana Komorowska (born 11 April 1956) is a Polish actress and filmmaker. She has appeared in more than fifty films since 1964. Selected filmography References External links * * 1956 births Living people Actresses from Gdańsk Po ...

as Danuta *

Ann Firbank Ann Firbank (born 9 January 1933) is an actress of film, television, and stage whose career extends from 1956. One of Firbank's more notable roles is her 1971 portrayal of Anne Elliot in the serial ''Persuasion'', an adaptation of Jane Austen's ...

as Mrs Turner *

Jeffry Wickham Jeffry Wickham (5 August 1933 – 17 June 2014) was an English stage, film and television actor. He served as President of the actors' trade union Equity from 1992 to 1994 and was the father of the actress Saskia Wickham and Rupert Wickham. H ...

as Brigadier Turner *

Holly Aird Imogen Holly Aird (born 18 May 1969) is an English television actress known for playing forensic pathologist Frankie Wharton in the BBC1 drama series '' Waking the Dead'', having previously starred in productions such as ''Soldier Soldier'' a ...

as Emily *

Grant Parsons Grant or Grants may refer to: Places * Grant County (disambiguation) Australia * Grant, Queensland, a locality in the Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia United Kingdom *Castle Grant United States * Grant, Alabama *Grant, Inyo County, ...

as Leo *

Amelia Shankley Amelia Shankley is a British actress (born 18 June 1972) Career Shankley is known for her role as the young Alice Liddell in the film ''Dreamchild'' (1985), from a script by Dennis Potter, and Sara Crewe in the LWT version of ''A Little Prince ...

as Harriet *

Deborah Grant Deborah Grant (born Deborah Jane Snelling; 22 February 1947) is an English actress. Between 1981 and 1991, she played Deborah Bergerac in the BBC television detective series '' Bergerac''. Since 2007, she has appeared in the sitcom ''Not Going ...

as Helena's Mother *

Romolo Bruni Romolo is an Italian given name, and may refer to: * Robert Bellarmine (1542–1621), Saint and Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church * Romolo Ferri (1928–2015), Italian Grand Prix motorcycle road racer * Romolo Gessi (1831–1881), Italian sold ...

as Waiter *

Natasha Byrne Natasha (russian: Наташа) is a name of Slavic origin. The Slavic name is the diminutive form of Natalia. Notable people * Natasha, the subject of '' Natasha's Story'', a 1994 nonfiction book * Natasha Aguilar (1970–2016), Costa Rican s ...

as Rachel Turner * Katharyn Ballantine as Tiggy Turner * Gary Fairhall as Photographer *

Gareth Forwood Gareth L. John Forwood (14 October 1945 – 16 October 2007) was a British stage, film and television actor. Forwood was born to actors Glynis Johns and Anthony Forwood. He made his screen debut in 1965 and went on to prosper as a character act ...

as Boris *Michael Dore as Singer * Louisa Janes as Young Helena *Anna Price as Maureen *

Colin Stinton Colin Stinton (born March 10, 1947) is a Canadian actor. Early life Born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada in 1947, Stinton moved to the United States as a child in 1952. He lived in a trailer with his family—traveling throughout the U.S. and finall ...

as Concert Hall Manager *Margaret Boyle as Neighbour *

John Grillo John Martin Grillo (born 29 November 1942, in Watford, Hertfordshire) is an English actor. Biography Grillo was educated at Watford Grammar School for Boys and Trinity Hall, Cambridge, and while there was actively involved in student theatre. H ...

Carl Duering Gerald Percy Fox (29 May 1923 – 1 September 2018), better known as Carl Duering, was a German-born British actor whose best-known role is as Dr. Brodsky in Stanley Kubrick's ''A Clockwork Orange (film), A Clockwork Orange''. He died in London i ...

as Art Critics *Irene Marot as Woman Journalist * Susan McCulloch as Soprano *

Joan Bakewell Joan Dawson Bakewell, Baroness Bakewell, ('' née'' Rowlands; born 16 April 1933), is an English journalist, television presenter and Labour Party peer. Baroness Bakewell is president of Birkbeck, University of London; she is also an auth ...

as TV Commentator * Cordelia Roche as Jordan *Jonathan Burn as Chief Inspector Strachan *

Trevor Cooper Trevor Cooper (born 21 September 1953) is an English actor. Background Born 21 September 1953, Cooper studied law at Kingston Polytechnic and graduated with a master's degree in law from the University of Warwick. He taught for two years at Lon ...

as Sergeant Bear * Rob Edwards as Consultant * Elizabeth Ash as Vicky *

Franco Trevisi Franco may refer to: Name * Franco (name) * Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975 * Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître" Prefix * Franco, a prefix used when ...

as Rossini * Timothy Kightley as Vicar *

Angela Goodwin Angela Goodwin (born Angela Bucci, 1 August 1925 – 25 March 2016), was an Italian stage, film and television actress. Life and career Born in Rome, Goodwin was the daughter of an Italian-American father, and spent her youth in the US where s ...

as Betsy Lazerhorn * Penny Darch as Miss Pope *

Rosemary Frankau Rosemary A. Frankau (14 April 1933 – 16 April 2017) was a British actress, born in Marylebone, London. She played Beattie Harris in nine series of the sitcom ''Terry and June'' between 1979 and 1987. Early life and career Frankau was e ...

as School Secretary * Dominic St. Clair as Blenkinsop * Deborah Barrymore as Air Stewardess * Calvin Simpson as Porter *Cynthia Powell as Nurse * Sophie Thursfield as Nurse Sheila * Francis Atkinson as Sharon * Magdalena Buznea as Cleaner *

Badi Uzzaman Mohammed Badi Uzzaman Azmi (8 March 1939 – 14 June 2011), better known as Badi Uzzaman, was a Pakistani-British television and film actor. According to ''The Guardian'', Uzzaman was perhaps best known for his role as a hospital patient in the 198 ...

as Mini Cab Driver * Naomi Kerbel as Olivia * Rebecca Sabin as Lavinia * Claire Shepherd as Laura

Plot

Kit Vesey, a London

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

, has proposed to Angela Turner, a receptionist at an art gallery. He is fearful about breaking this news to his fiercely controlling mother, Helena, but they do. Kit also insists that Angela not mention anything to Helena about their going to visit his father Alex, who

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...

d Helena and remarried many years ago. Helena has blocked all mention of Alex from her life and even threatened to commit

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

when Kit once suggested going to live with him. Accepted by Helena, the Veseys settle into marriage and have two children, all the while maintaining a secret relationship with Alex and his new family. However, when Helena sees an arts programme about Alex's wife Ruth, a renowned photographer, she conspires to kill Ruth by locking her in her

darkroom A darkroom is used to process photographic film, to make prints and to carry out other associated tasks. It is a room that can be made completely dark to allow the processing of the light-sensitive photographic materials, including film and ph ...

with the ventilators blocked and contrives evidence to convict Helena's driver, George. While visiting

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, Alex meets Jordan, an American actress whom he subsequently marries and whom later gives birth to twins. As Kit is paralysed following surgery on a brain tumour, Helena comes to tend to him in hospital but starts to uncover other evidence about how Angela has been visiting Alex. After watching Angela leave Alex's home and interpreting the evident affection between the two of them as evidence that Angela was having an affair with Alex, Helena becomes increasingly unhinged. While at the hospital one day, she informs the paralysed Kit that she intends to poison Alex and Jordan's twins using

laburnum ''Laburnum'', sometimes called golden chain or golden rain, is a genus of two species of small trees in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae. The species are '' Laburnum anagyroides''—common laburnum and '' Laburnum alpinum''— ...

in return for the pair's 'treachery.' Having tested the effectiveness of laburnum on a neighbour's cat, Helena laces some marzipan

shortbread Shortbread or shortie is a traditional Scottish biscuit usually made from one part white sugar, two parts butter, and three to four parts plain wheat flour. Unlike many other biscuits and baked goods, shortbread does not contain any leavening, ...

s with the poison and gives them to her grandchildren, knowing that they would likely give them to the twins at Alex's party. Helena's plan fails, however, as another girl at the party, Olivia, steals one of the shortbreads while the rest of the guests are outside taking a photo together, and she is subsequently discovered in a convulsive state in the garden. After the family receive a strange call purporting to be from the hospital, Angela realises that it must have been Helena who poisoned the shortbreads and who had called the family only to be told that Alex's family did have contact with Kit. Angela rushes to the hospital at the same time as Helena starts removing Kit from his life support machine for his 'treachery.' Angela arrives to find Helena embracing Kit whilst he struggles to breathe and calls nurses over, who discover that Helena had, in fact, forced him out of his paralysis. The final scene shows Helena in a prison cell, staring emptily at a wall.

Awards

Diana Rigg won the

British Academy Television Award for Best Actress This is a list of the British Academy Television Awards for Best Actress. The British Academy Television Awards began in 1955. The Best Actress award was initially given as an "individual honour", without credit to a particular performance, until ...

for her portrayal of Helena. BAFTA nominations for Mother Love included: Best Drama Series/Serial - Ken Riddington, Simon Langton, Andrew Davies. Best Film Editor - Ray Wingrove. Best Film Sound - Barrie Tharby, Keith Marriner, Graham Lawrence.

Broadcasts

''Mother Love'' first aired in its original four-parts from 29 October to 19 November 1989 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 ...

with a

BBC Two 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 ...

repeat the following year. In 1991 it was broadcast on the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

programme ''

Mystery! ''Mystery!'' (also written ''MYSTERY!'') is a television anthology series produced by WGBH Boston for PBS in the United States. The series was created as a mystery, police and crime drama spin-off of the already established PBS show ''Masterpi ...

'', of which Rigg was the host. It was broadcast on

Sky Arts Sky Arts (originally launched as Artsworld) is a British free-to-air television channel offering 24 hours a day of programmes dedicated to highbrow arts, including theatrical performances, movies, documentaries and music (such as opera perfor ...

in the early 2010s. Following the death of Diana Rigg, it was repeated on 22–23 December 2020 on

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

in two parts. It has not been officially released on VHS or DVD.

References

External links

''Mother Love''
at the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

* {{s-end 1989 British television series debuts 1989 British television series endings 1980s British drama television series BBC television dramas 1980s British television miniseries Television shows based on British novels Television shows written by Andrew Davies BAFTA winners (television series) English-language television shows Television shows set in London