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Episode 3

Episode 3 of 3

Drama series. Sarah throws herself into work to take her mind off the pain of unrequited love, while Carne comes to terms with the idea that Muriel can never be restored to him.

After a highly charged encounter in a Manchester hotel, Sarah and Carne return to the South Riding more at odds with each other than ever, as Andrew Davies's adaptation of Winifred Holtby's rich and panoramic portrait of a Yorkshire community in the Thirties concludes. Sarah, humiliated that Carne is avoiding her, distracts herself with work, her priority being to find a way to get Lydia Holly back to school and away from a future of domestic drudgery looking after her father and younger siblings.

Meanwhile, Councillor Huggins, desperate to claw back the money lost to Reg and Bessie's little scam, cashes in his life insurance to buy up some wasteland for himself. When Carne discovers that his fellow councillors have been pushing up land values to profit from the housing scheme he accuses Councillor Snaith of corruption. It's an unwise move without proof and Snaith sues Carne for slander.

A 10,000 pound lawsuit is the straw that breaks Carne's back; bankruptcy is inevitable. He makes his way to the school to tell Sarah - his pretext is that he must step down as a school governor, but perhaps his real motive for going to her is more personal.

As 1934 gives way to '35, Winifred Holtby's messy, compassionate and humane story comes to a head. Her questions resonate as much in 2011 as they did when she first framed them, asking how we should educate our children and look after our sick and insane, and how we can raise our poor out of poverty. Haltingly, imperfectly, the people of the South Riding search for answers, while Sarah seeks the answer to the most universal question of all: What am I here for.

1 hour

Last on

Fri 13 Jan 2012 22:30

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Credits

Role Contributor
Sarah Burton Anna Maxwell Martin
Robert Carne David Morrissey
Producer Lisa Osborne
Director Diarmuid Lawrence
Writer Andrew Davies
Author Winifred Holtby
Mrs Beddows Penelope Wilton
Alfred Huggins John Henshaw
Desk Clerk Peter Rylands
Mr Beddows Stephen MacKenna
Mr Holly Shaun Dooley
Lydia Holly Charlie May-Clark
Midge Carne Katherine McGolpin
Joe Astell Douglas Henshall
Gaius Drew Ian Bartholomew
Anthony Snaith Peter Firth
Mrs Brimsley Marie Critchley
Bus Conductor Sebastian Shaw
Solicitor Jeff Merchant
Gertie Holly Alexandra Pearson
School Secretary Joanna Swain
Hicks Renny Krupinski
Fisherman Carl Cieka
Muriel Carne Lydia Wilson
Clergyman Malcolm Raeburn
Lord Sedgmire Ralph Riach
Percy Bernard Wrigley
Miss Sigglesthwaite Brid Brennan
Mrs Holly Jennifer Hennessy
Mrs Huggins Penny Layden
Bessy Warbuckle Janine Mellor
Reg Aythorne John Paul Hurley
Mrs Oldroyd Wendy Patterson
Young Robert Carne Daniel West
Maud Martha Godber
Nancy Charlotte Thornton
Lord Port William Rodell
Vera Rosie Muncer

Broadcasts