Harpool Farms

Harpool Farms is a British television drama that ran on BBC Two from 1992 - 1994 and then again on BBC One from 2012 - 2016. It revolves around Kathy Cuthbert (Maureen Honeyford), a farmer's wife living in a small village in England. Many considered it the television counterpart to BBC Radio 4's The Archers, which follows a similar premise and shares a similar writing staff.

Background
When BBC Radio 4 marked The Archers' 40th anniversary in 1991, rumours surfaced in tabloids that the BBC were exploring the idea of bringing the serial to television. BBC executives confirmed the rumours false, and instead announced Harpool Farms, a six-part drama revolving around a farm and the surrounding village of Comb in the West Country. The series filmed in Wiltshire over the summer of 1991 and premiered in January 1992. It received national acclaim and returned for a Christmas special the same year. It returned for a second six-episode series in 1994 and concluded with a second Christmas special the same year.

20 years after the series began, Radio Times ran an article that revealed original cast members Julie Walters and Maureen Honeyford had signed up to return to the series for Christmas special followed by a six-part series. The series' return aired on Christmas Day 2012 on BBC One to rave reviews and sky high ratings. The third series gained consistently high ratings and the BBC immediately commissioned a fourth and fifth series, each accompanied by Christmas specials for 2014 and 2015 respectively. The BBC confirmed that the series would end in 2016 due to the death of Maureen Honeyford midway through filming the sixth series, scripts were changed for the final 2 episodes and the BBC confirmed that the series' conclusion would be a 2016 Christmas Special, which was dedicated in Honeyford's memory.

Main
Maureen Honeyford as Kathy Cuthbert, owner of Harpool Farms after her husband dies.

Julie Walters as Karen Cuthbert-Jones, Kathy's daughter who owns the Comb post office, she and her husband move back into Harpool Farms when her mother becomes a widow.

Bill Nighy as Martin Jones, Karen's husband who runs the off-license and helps Karen with the post office, he occasionally helps out at the farm. Karen is suspicious he's having an affair.

Kate Winslet as Nina Smythe (previously Cuthbert-Jones), Karen and Martin's daughter, desperate to get out of Comb and live a city life.

Recurring
James D'Arcy as Michael Smythe, Nina's on-and-off boyfriend and eventual husband. He is a farm hand at Harpool Farms.

Brendan Gleeson as Ron Connor, the town mayor and a friend of the Cuthbert family.

Alan Titchmarsh as himself, appears in several episodes judging various village competitions and attending fetes. Usually appears alongside a 'trusted friend'.

Whoopi Goldberg as herself, appears as one of Alan Titchmarsh's 'trusted friends' in series 2, a self confessed fan of the show, Whoopi reappeared as herself in series 6.

Georgie Henley as Katherine Smythe, Nina and Michael's daughter.