15 Unlikely British TV Shows To Spawn Hollywood Stars

12. The Darling Buds Of May €“ Catherine Zeta-Jones

The Darling Buds of May was an ITV comedy-drama that ran for three seasons between 1991 through to 1993. Of course, this being British television, that meant eleven episodes. It was based on the H.E. Bates novels, which were first published in 1958. It followed the adventures of the Larkin family, and uses the character of Cedric Charlton (a tax collector) to introduce us to the family as he meets them for the first time. Cedric falls in love with Mariette Larkin, stays in the countryside and becomes a member of the family. I remember watching this when it was on, it was one of those must watch television series on British TV. Kind of like Broadchurch, but with far fewer murders. The most striking thing was who was playing Mariette Larkin €“ it was Catherine Zeta-Jones. She had previously been in a few different things, but a big deal was made over her in the British press when she appeared in the Darling Buds. She was portrayed by the media as a fresh faced Welsh actress. Which was why it came as a complete surprise when she suddenly started appearing in Hollywood films. Six years after this series she was appearing opposite Sean Connery in Entrapment. Three years after that she was appearing as a big name in the film version of Chicago where she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in her one and only Oscar nomination. The Darling Buds of May remains the only main cast television credit for Zeta-Jones. The timeframe for the series is slightly confusing... it was originally set in 1958, and at the end of the series when Charlton and Mariette were married and had toddlers... it was only 1959. I guess one way to avoid having to cover the swinging sixties is simply to ignore the progress of time! The production values on the series were similar to shows such as Heartbeat, and although the British press went crazy for Zeta-Jones, I don't think anyone could have guessed of the success she would have internationally.