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The Larkins

ITV, 8pm

Perhaps it’s best to put memories of the 1990s ITV series The Darling Buds Of May to one side – after all, the days of shows getting more than 20 million viewers are long gone – and instead enjoy this new adaptation of H.E. Bates’s novels of the Larkins family on its own terms.

From game shows to soap operas and Doctor Who, Bradley Walsh has shown his popularity and versatility. Now he plays Pop Larkin and seems right at home in the setting of the Kent countryside of 1958, as does Joanna Scanlan as Ma, a warm, loving woman never to be underestimated.

As the six-part series begins, the family’s eldest daughter Mariette (Sabrina Bartlett, right) dreams of escaping to a new life across the Channel. Meanwhile the dastardly Alec Norman (Tony Gardner) is set on becoming master of the hunt – but he’ll have to reckon with Pop first. ★★★★☆

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2021-10-10T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-10-10T07:00:00.0000000Z

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