EPISODE DESCRIPTIONS

SERIES 1 | 2 | 3 | Xmas special |X-Mas 2007 Special (AKA 25th Anniversary Special)

SERIES 1
* Number in parentheses at end of program description is BBCWA library tape number.

1. The recently widowed Audrey fforbes-Hamilton looks forward to running Grantleigh Manor Estate on her own. But in the face of the demands of her late husband's creditors, she has to fight to maintain a family hold on the estate. (1)

2. Audrey moves out of Grantleigh Manor to make way for the new owner, Richard Devere. Her hopes of the estate being run in traditional fashion are dashed when she discovers the owner's true background. (2)

3. When Richard fails to turn up in church on his first Sunday as new Lord of the Manor, Audrey takes it on herself to remind him of his duties. Unfortunately, she fails to practice what she preaches. (3)

4. Richard has moved his multi-national grocery business to the Manor and has started re- building it, much to Audrey's consternation. They cross swords on the matter of a fireplace. (4)

5. Richard allows the traditional Hunt Ball to be held at the manor, but he is not pleased when Audrey refuses to organize it. He plays a trick on her to change her mind, but Audrey resolves to get him back in turn. (5)

6. Despite abject poverty (by her standards), Audrey decides that she must take a holiday to keep up with her wealthy friends. But her little plan of a holiday at home back fires when Richard fails to go away for his vacation. (6)

7. Audrey begins to accept the hard facts of her displacement and poverty when she pays her first visit to the local supermarket. Richard, meanwhile, decides to publicize his arrival by doing a television commercial at the Manor. (7)

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SERIES 2
1. All is not well at Grantleigh Estate. Richard wants to make the farms productive enough to supply his supermarket chain. He calls in his London based farm manager to cull out the inefficiencies in which the estate abounds. (8)

2. Audrey receives a letter from an old friend who will be passing through and asks to spend the night. As Audrey has not advertised her drop in status from Lady of the Manor, she is not keep to receive the visitor. (9)

3. Audrey is extremely happy to help Richard catalogue his collection of antique china. When one of the pieces goes missing, however, Richard has no alternative but to suspect her in its disappearance. (10)

4. An itinerant worker whom Audrey has helped with employment in years past arrives to ask work from Richard. He is disinclined to make the offer, but Audrey forcibly reminds Richard of his manorial duties. (11)

5. The Queen's New Year's Honors List, it is rumored, contains some information of interest to the inhabitants of Grantleigh Estate. Audrey assumes that Richard is on the list and does what she can to ingratiate herself with him. (12)

6. Audrey puts her back out in gathering firewood. Richard is most attentive to her needs, even offering her a ski holiday should she recover in time. His confidence in his own skiing, however, is shaken with a practice mishap. (13)

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SERIES 3
1. As county commissioner for the Girl Guides, Audrey scolds Richard for not sponsoring a charity event to build a new meeting hut for the girls. Richard's gesture of reconciliation results in her unwittingly sponsoring of his company's new products. (14)

2. Audrey mobilizes the village to fight the threatened closure of the local railway station. Her trump card is Richard's traditional right as Lord of the Manor. But he has plans for the station that he has not shared with her. (15)

3. A repair bill for Audrey's Rolls Royce finally convinces her to revert to four legged horsepower. Her challenging campaign for energy conservation does not win over Richard. He has just bought a helicopter. (16)

4. A rare tropical bird nesting on the estate causes a flurry of interest by local naturalists. Audrey is unimpressed, at least until she discovers a way to turn the event to her own financial advantage. (17)

5. Richard is anxious to sign a profitable contract with Mme. Dutoit, owner of a cosmetic company. To ward of her amorous advances, he pretends to be married to Audrey, who shrewdly takes the opportunities to makes some changes on the estate. (18)

6. Facing a serious crisis in his business empire, Richard has no time for his daily battles with Audrey over running the estate. Further events prove that the two problems are not altogether incompatible. (19)

7. When Richard's business crisis forces him to sell Grantleigh Estate, he is distraught. But in the meanwhile an unexpected legacy has left Audrey with the funds to buy back the Manor. Could she have special plans in place for Richard? (20)

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1979 CHRISTMAS SPECIAL - Richard and Audrey feud over who will provide the creche to decorate the village church for the holidays. Brabinger is away visiting his sister.

2007 Christmas Special (AKA 25th Anniversary Special)- 25 years after their hugely popular love-hate relationship was finally resolved in marriage, we revisit the happy couple for a one-off special as they prepare to celebrate their silver wedding anniversary. Aristocratic Audrey has resumed her imperious command over the estate, the farms, and the neighbourhood, while dashing self-made businessman Richard has, to all appearances, settled down to the life of the definitive gentleman farmer. While Audrey?s old social circle have all been bought up by the big food syndicates and fled, they are proud survivors. The scene is set for a grand party, until an extraordinary confession gets in the way. With the help of her long-suffering school friend Marjory, a fearless Audrey goes into battle to defend a community, safeguard 400 years of history and save her marriage.