Lark Rise to Candleford

(Rochester, New York) – Julia Sawalha, Olivia Hallinan, Dawn French, Brendan Coyle, Olivia Grant, Mark Heap, Ben Miles, and Liz Smith star in this winning adaptation of Flora Thompson's magical memoir of her Oxfordshire childhood, a love letter to a vanished corner of rural England and a heart-warming drama series teeming with wit, wisdom and romance. Lark Rise to Candleford premieres on WXXI-TV/HD (DT21.1/cable 1011 and 11) Saturday, January 5, 2013 at 8 p.m. The series repeats Sundays at 7 p.m.

Set in the small hamlet of Lark Rise and the wealthier neighboring market town, Candleford, at the end of the 19th Century, the series chronicles the daily lives of farm workers, craftsmen, and gentry, observing characters in loving, boisterous and competing communities of families, rivals, friends, and neighbours.

This world is seen through the eyes of a teenage girl, Laura Timmins (Olivia Hallinan – Sugar Rush, Torchwood), as she leaves Lark Rise to start a new life under the wing of her cousin, the independent and effervescent Dorcas Lane (Julia Sawalha – Absolutely Fabulous, Pride And Prejudice), who is Post Mistress at the local Post Office in Candleford.

Through them, viewers experience the force of friendship as they see each other through the best and worst of times. Lark Rise To Candleford is warm, funny, poignant, occasionally tragic but overall a celebration of the spirit of community.

Photo: Lark Rise to Candleford cast
Credit: BBC