Category: Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ FOUR; TV Drama; Wales
Date: 27.01.2006
Printable version
"Sexual intercourse began in 1963... between the end of the Chatterley ban and the Beatles' first LP" - Philip Larkin
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In October 1960, Penguin Books was prosecuted for obscenity after publishing the first unexpurgated edition of DH Lawrence's Lady Chatterley's Lover.
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At London's Old Bailey, a jury of nine men and three women were sworn in for the most famous, and sensational, obscenity prosecution ever to take place.
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It could be argued that the outcome changed Britain for ever, ushering in 'The Sixties', with everything that the phrase implies.
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All the details of the trial are on record. Except for what the jury said, thought... and did.
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Andrew Davies' major new drama for Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ FOUR, The Chatterley Affair, offers a fictional account of the jurors' experience.
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It is seen through the eyes of Keith (Rafe Spall - The Rotters' Club) and Helena (Louise Delamere - No Angels), two of the jurors who fall in love under the influence of Lawrence's prose.
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"Is it a book that you would even wish
your wife or your servants to read?"
- prosecuting counsel, Mervyn Griffith-Jones
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Before the trial could begin, the jury were ordered to read the book together, but silently, in the jury room.
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As they read the passionate descriptions of Constance Chatterley's affair with Mellors, her husband's gamekeeper, an affair develops between Keith and Helena, which is intercut with key moments in the court case.
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Their relationship becomes both a celebration and a critique of the novel.
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Producer Karen Lewis says: "Andrew Davies has created a compelling and highly original drama.
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"He's dramatised a seminal moment in history, and offers a challenging, oblique adaptation of a classic novel, juxtaposed with a poignant love story.
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"Lawrence writes of sex, language, liberty and class - obsessions which still haunt us in the 21st century."
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Also starring are Pip Torrens (Broken News, Pride and Prejudice) who puts the case for the prosecution as Mervyn Griffith-Jones; Donald Sumpter (The Constant Gardener) who defends the case as Gerald Gardiner; and Karl Johnson (Rome) who sits as judge, Mr Justice Byrne.
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David Tennant (Doctor Who, Casanova) features as star witness Richard Hoggart.
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Produced by Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Wales for Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ FOUR, The Chatterley Affair will transmit as part of Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ FOUR's new drama season in Winter 2006.
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The drama is written by Andrew Davies, directed by James Hawes and produced by Karen Lewis with Julie Gardner and Bethan Jones as Executive Producers.
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