George Mottisford (Lee Ingleby) is a dispirited veteran of the Great War, living with his parents, wife Lizzie (Liz White) and two daughters in a small terrace and running a grocery shop. He suffers from what would probably now be called PTSD, and survivor guilt at having come through the war that killed his brother Stanley. A chance encounter with his rascal brother-in-law (Ralf Little) leads to him rescuing a parrot and a monkey from the docks and then, in the teeth of opposition from his mother (Anne Reid, splendid as usual), an elderly camel from a circus. Don't try this at home....
This is Hovis-cozy Sunday night drama airing on a Wednesday, for some unfathomable reason. The first episode of six sees George's enthusiasm persuade his wife to agree to stake everything on a bank loan to buy a derelict stately home and turn it into a free-roaming zoo. In time-honoured, TV-drama fashion, George triumphs against the odds and takes the first steps towards making his dream come true, with the slightly baffling support of a posh lady (Sophia Myles) and the interest of the local vicar (Stephen Campbell-Moore). Peter Wight is his amiable dad Albert, rounding out a good cast, and the story is based on the founding of Chester Zoo.
The preview of episode two suggests that George gets off to a shaky start and may have bitten off more than he can chew with the residents of Upton. We know he overcomes it, so no spoilers possible really, and no real tension either. He has an amazingly precocious - for the time - 15-year-old daughter who has already tried to elope with the neighbour's boy, prompting bad CGI of a departing steamer. It's not challenging stuff, then, and its 9pm weekday slot is probably not as good a fit as 8pm Sunday, but we think fans of Anne Reid and cheeky-looking camels will probably find it worthwhile tuning in.
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