PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
Butterflies features the trials and tribulations of the Parkinson family. The series stars Wendy Craig as the scatty suburban housewife Ria, Geoffrey Palmer as her husband Ben, and Nicholas Lyndhurst and Andrew Hall as their two tearaway sons. Ria is happily married to Ben, a successful dentist with a passion for butterflies. They live with their two teenage sons in a comfortable middle-class home. She has never wished for anything more in life, but as she approaches middle age, she begins to think that there is something missing...

Ria strongly suspects that life is passing her by. 'I'm your cliche bored housewife,' she says. 'The children no longer need me and my head is full of wild dreams which I'm too exhausted to chase'. She feels that Ben and the boys take everything she does for granted - the cooking, the cleaning, being 'Mum'. In fact, the only thing that unites all three Parkinson men is that they agree on the awfulness of Ria's cooking. Custard has to be helped out of the jug while her gravy contains lumps that would have sunk the Titanic.

And then one day she meets a handsome businessman, Leonard, and dreams that he will sweep her off her feet. They see each other in secret - it's just the excitement she's been looking for! But despite the fact that their relationship is purely platonic, Ria feels pangs of guilt...

CAST
Wendy Craig (as Ria)
Geofrey Palmer (as Ben)
Bruce Montague (as Leonard)
Andrew Hall (as Russel)
Nicholas Lyndhurst (as Adam)
Michael Ripper (as The Chaffeur)
Joyce Windsor (as Ruby)

PRODUCTION INFORMATION
Written by Carla Lane
Produced by Gareth Gwenlan and Sydney Lotterby

DURATION
27 x 30'and 1 Special