''Tom's Midnight Garden'' is a 1989 directed by Christine Secombe and starring Jeremy Rampling, Shaughan Seymour and

Isabelle Amyes Isabelle Amyes (born 13 June 1950) is an English actress best known for her role as Barbara Hunt in the British TV drama '' Bad Girls'' from 2000 to 2003. Another prominent role was as Fanny in '' Love in a Cold Climate'' (1980). Her various g ...

.The TV series was based on the novel ''

Tom's Midnight Garden ''Tom's Midnight Garden'' is a children's fantasy novel by English author Philippa Pearce. It was first published in 1958 by Oxford University Press with illustrations by Susan Einzig. The story is about a twelve-year-old, Tom, who, while stayi ...

'' by

Philippa Pearce Ann Philippa Pearce OBE FRSL (22 January 1920 – 21 December 2006) was an English author of children's books. Best known of them is the time-slip novel '' Tom's Midnight Garden'', which won the 1958 Carnegie Medal from the Library Associati ...

, and filmed at Chenies Manor House in

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

This adaptation stays true to Philippa Pearce's classic novel, blending a sense of wonder with emotional depth.

Plot

Tom Long, a young boy who is sent to stay with his aunt and uncle in their dull, old house during the summer. One night, when the grandfather clock mysteriously strikes thirteen, Tom discovers that the backyard transforms into a magical, Victorian-era garden. There, he meets Hatty, a lonely girl who becomes his companion in this timeless world. As Tom returns to the garden night after night, he notices that time moves strangely—each visit shows Hatty growing older, from a little girl to a young woman, while Tom remains the same age. Through their friendship, Tom unravels the mystery of the garden and Hatty's life. In the present, he learns that Hatty is now an elderly woman, Mrs. Bartholomew, the upstairs neighbor, whose dreams connect the past and present. The series beautifully explores themes of time, memory, and the power of imagination.

Cast

* Jeremy Rampling as Tom Long * Shaughan Seymour as Uncle Alan *

as Aunt Gwen * Simon Fenton as Peter Long *

Caroline Waldron Caroline may refer to: People * Caroline (singer) (born 1981), Japanese glitch pop musician * Caroline (given name), a feminine given name * J. C. Caroline (1933–2017), American football player * Jamie Caroline (born 1999), British racing driv ...

as Hatty *

Renée Asherson Dorothy Renée Ascherson (19 May 1915 – 30 October 2014), known professionally as Renée Asherson, was a British actress. Much of her theatrical career was spent in Shakespearean plays, appearing at such venues as the Old Vic, the Liverpool ...

as Mrs. Bartholomew * Richard Garnett as Abel * Sarah Jane McKechnie as Mrs. Long * Katherine Schofield as Aunt Grace * Tessa Burbridge as Susan * Gareth Kirkland as Barty * Richard Cripwell as Older James * Edward Sibley as Edgar *

Noah Huntley Noah Cornelius Marmaduke Huntley (born 7 September 1974) is an English actor and model. He has appeared in films such as ''28 Days Later'' (2002), '' The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'' (2005), ''Snow White and the ...

as James * Ashley Clark as Hubert * Kevin Francis as Man in Yard * Bill Kerry as Roast Chestnut Seller * Patrick Burke as Verger * Miranda Burton as Little Hatty * Will Club as Man with Dog

References

External links

* * {{rotten-tomatoes, toms_midnight_garden 1989 British television series debuts 1989 British television series endings British children's television series 1980s British children's television series 1980s British television miniseries British television shows based on children's books BBC children's television shows British English-language television shows