Entertainment

Durrells star Keeley Hawes says TV dramas for all the family are now rare

She said The Durrells was different to other period dramas because the children fight.
She said The Durrells was different to other period dramas because the children fight. She said The Durrells was different to other period dramas because the children fight.

TV dramas which the whole family can watch are now rare, actress Keeley Hawes has said.

The Durrells, in which the star plays a widowed mother who has uprooted her boisterous family from Britain to Corfu, has been a hit on ITV.

Hawes, 41, said that one reason for the success of the drama, which is set in the 1930s, is that it appeals to everyone.

The Durrells
The Durrells
The Durrells (ITV)

“It’s one of those feel-good nostalgia shows that people want to watch on the Sunday night before getting ready for the week ahead,” she said.

“It’s something that the whole family can watch together. That’s very rare these days because it’s very difficult to make it work.”

She added: “From the age of nine to 94, all these generations sit together to watch this show. I can’t think of anything else that does that.”

Hawes said the programme, based on Gerald Durrell’s memoirs including the autobiographical novel My Family And Other Animals, differed to other period dramas.

The Durrells has returned for a second series. (ITV)
The Durrells has returned for a second series. (ITV)
The Durrells (ITV)

“Usually in costume dramas, everyone is very well-behaved and incredibly polite. But in The Durrells, the family are always scrapping and fighting, but still loving each other,” The Missing actress said.

She said filming the drama was a “perfect job” which she did not want to end, adding: “I’d like to go back to Corfu every year.”

:: The Durrells Series 2 DVD is available from Amazon.