Under The Greenwood Tree

Cast
Fanny Day .................................... Keeley Hawes
Dick Dewy ....................................James Murray
Parson Maybold .........................Ben Miles
Farmer Shiner .............................Steve Pemberton
Reuben Dewy ............................Tony Haygarth
Geoffrey Day ..................................Tom Georgeson
Mary Dewy ..................................Jane Wheldon
Susan Dewy .................................Sian Brooke
Robert Penny ..............................Terry Mortimer
Elias Spinks ....................................John Axon
Anne Roebuck ...........................Alethea Steven
Thomas Leaf ................................Richard Leaf
Bessey ..............................................Ellie Thackeray
Charley ..........................................Liam de Gruchy
Farmer ...........................................Sean Arnold
Gabriel ...........................................Robert Wilkinson

Production Credits
Screenplay....................................................Ashley Pharoah
Based on the classic novel by Thomas Hardy
Director.........................................................Nick Laughland
Producer.......................................................Jeremy Gwilt
Executive Producers.....................................Douglas Rae, Matt Arlidge, Robert Bernstein

Keeley Hawes (Wives and Daughters, MI-5) stars as Fancy Day, a beautiful school teacher, in Thomas Hardy's entrancing tale of young love in rural Victorian England. When three men propose marriage, will Fancy follow tradition and choose the wealthy landowner or the decent vicar? Or will she give her heart to the working man who loves her?

Although Hardy set his lovely story in Dorset, it was filmed on the island of Jersey, where secluded bays and dramatic cliffs resemble the Dorset coastline

?Well made and sweetly funny, it is a reminder of Hardy?s softer side ... it has much to enjoy.? -Sunday Times
?Some television dramas are like a beautifully wrapped present. Exciting on the outside and as disappointing as a pair of socks underneath. But every so often we get something that delivers exactly what it promises. Under The Greenwood Tree ... had a sparkling cast, beautiful scenery and a story that never lost its way ... fun from start to finish ... a perfect remedy for the post-Christmas mood and a great choice for a TV adaptation.? - Daily Express
?...it is beautifully filmed through the seasons and the period atmosphere is enchantingly done. James Murray makes a charming hero and Keeley Hawes does well with a part that is in danger of making her seem fickle and selfish. It was delightful viewing.?- Western Morning News
?Nick Laughland?s atmospheric version of Thomas Hardy?s early novel re-creates a bucolic idyll of bearded rustics, merry wassailing and barrels of cider ... Yet this adaptation also brings out the struggle between the old England of country dancing and harvest festivals and a new world of technology...? - Sunday Times
?This strong adaptation of Thomas Hardy?s early novel is a Christmas treat, proving far more cheery than previous ITV Hardys ... Screenwriter Ashley Pharoah has wisely updated the story for a modern audience so that the heroine, Fancy Day, is less of a coquette and more of a well-educated young woman who feels she should be obeying her father?s wishes and marrying well rather than simply following her heart ... Keeley Hawes gives an excellent, emotional performance as Fancy ... Thankfully this is no chocolate-box production however. As newcomer Fancy finds her feet, we feel her anxiety at living in a village that can be both womblike and terrifyingly claustrophobic.? - Observer
?Never mind the rosy-apples-and-golden-corn production values - it is a total joy to watch heartfelt storytelling about real people being shown on ITV.? - The Times
?This is a drama so warm and comforting it?s a perfect antidote to Christmas indigestion ... Keeley Hawes?s positively radiant schoolteacher...?- Daily Mirror
?...a beautiful, atmospheric drama which engagingly examines the class divide in 19th-century country life.? -Daily Express
?A perfectly cast Keeley Hawes...? - Sunday Times
?It?s nicely shot (expect no less from a quality production), lively and agreeable...? -Birmingham Post

In 19th-century rural Wessex, the villagers of Mellstock are thrown into turmoil by the arrival of pretty new schoolteacher Fancy Day. Handsome but poor Dick Dewy falls in love with her at first sight, but his rivals for her hand - parson Maybold and farmer Shiner - both have more money and status. As his son tries to win love across the class divide, Dick?s father is more concerned about Maybold?s plans to replace the choir with a harmonium, played by Fancy Day...

It?s Christmas Eve, and the choir of Mellstock are celebrating with Reuben Dewy?s home-made cider and carol-singing around the village. Schoolteacher Fancy Day arrives to take up her post and immediately catches the eye of Dewy?s handsome son Dick. But parson Maybold and rich farmer Shiner are equally attracted by the pretty new arrival.

Upset by Maybold?s plans to replace the choir with a harmonium, played by Fancy, Reuben invites the parson and Fancy to his Christmas party, hoping to talk him round. Dick is tongue-tied but impresses Fancy on the dance floor, although Shiner ends up walking her home.

Dick helps Fancy move her furniture and is humiliated by Shiner and her sick father, who is determined to see her married well before he dies. But the day ends well for Dick, who manages to kiss Fancy as they clean up after the move.

By springtime, Reuben is worried about his son?s infatuation, while Fancy is shocked when Shiner proposes out of the blue. She delays in giving Shiner an answer, and when she meets Dick in the woods by chance, they fall into each other?s arms.

Maybold finds Fancy in tears practicing the harmonium. She tells him a man has proposed to her and the parson hides his disappointment to console her. Determined to do the right thing, Fancy tells Shiner she cannot accept, but he begs her to take until the end of the summer to decide.

Maybold is ready to move the harmonium into church and the choir drown their sorrows, arriving drunk for the Sunday service. Gossip spreads about Dick and Fancy in the woods and Geoffrey Day makes her promise to drop Dick. Dick is angry and bitterly blames his own father for his lack of prospects.

When Mr Day gets caught in a mantrap and Dick saves him, Fancy believes Shiner is the hero. Dick upsets Fancy by missing her church debut by going in search of new business, and argues with her on his return. Fancy tells Shiner she is in love with another, and the farmer, misunderstanding, tells Maybold to make his move. But Fancy finds out the truth about her father?s rescue and goes in search of Dick. As the village prepares for Harvest and Maybold wins Mr Day?s approval as suitor, can Fancy find the courage to challenge social conventions and her father?s wishes to follow her true feelings?