Heartbeat (1992– )

A British police constable and his doctor wife, weary of the turmoil in contemporary London, decide to move and work in a quiet village where life is livelier than they anticipated.

Stars:

William Simons, Derek Fowlds, Tricia Penrose

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Series cast summary:
William Simons	...	PC Alf Ventress (355 episodes, 1992-2009)
Derek Fowlds	...	Oscar Blaketon (342 episodes, 1992-2009)
Tricia Penrose	...	Gina Ward (338 episodes, 1993-2009)
Mark Jordon	...	PC Phil Bellamy (323 episodes, 1992-2007)
David Lonsdale	...	David Stockwell (259 episodes, 1993-2009)
Peter Benson	...	Bernie Scripps (234 episodes, 1995-2009)
Bill Maynard	...	Claude Jeremiah Greengrass (155 episodes, 1992-2000)

Storyline

Constable Nick Rowan is a English Policeman in the 1960's who decides to be reassigned to the same small village where his wife was born. There, he patrols the countryside as a part of a small attachment in the area dealing with the various events and problems that come up while at same time keeping a eye on Claude Greengrass, the local rogue.

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Plot Keywords:

village | doctor | police | countryside | 1960s | 

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Genres:

Drama | Comedy | Crime

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 April 1992 (UK)

Also Known As:

Classic Heartbeat

Filming Locations:

Askwith, North Yorkshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Yorkshire Television (YTV)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

50 min 50 min (274 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the earlier episodes, when George Ward (Stuart Golland) was in charge of the Aidensfield Arms, it was mentioned on several occasions that the fire in the bar had never been allowed to go out since the pub first opened. This was based on the real-life tradition at The Legendary Saltersgate Inn on the Whitby-Pickering road near the Hole of Horcum, a few miles from Goathland where the Aidensfield village scenes are filmed. It was said that the fire at the Saltersgate stayed lit for over 200 years, reputedly because an early publican had killed a customs officer and buried his body beneath the fireplace, and then lit a fire to avoid the hiding place being detected.

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Goofs

In the opening titles for Series 18, a shot of David's maroon lorry has been reversed: the lettering on the number-plate is a mirror image.

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Connections

Spin-off The Royal (2003)

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Soundtracks

"Heartbeat"
(Theme song)
Written by Buddy Holly
Performed by Nick Berry

User Reviews

Used to be good but lost its way

Heartbeat began with former EastEnders star (and wooden as my front door) Nick Berry as a London police constable who relocated to the North Yorkshire Moors in the 1960s. Based on Nicholas Rhea's real experiences of police life during that era, it was a worthy and authentic series that set out to address some of the pertinent issues of the time. Nick Berry's severe limitations when it came to expressing anything were compensated by the fantastic character performances of Derek Fowlds as tyrannical Sergeant Blaketon, William Simons as lazy, ageing Constable Ventress and Bill Maynard as local rogue Greengrass.

Unfortunately, the show progressively suffered from a series of departures. The excellent Niamh Cusack, who played Berry's wife, left to be succeeded by a less capable actress as his love interest. After about five years in the series, Nick Berry left. Berry's replacement, Jason Durr, was a better actor, but the writing was deteriorating and the series appeared to have run out of ideas. Two of the best characters were also replaced with very over the top and irritating substitutes; Bill Maynard left, to be replaced by Geoffrey Hughes and Derek Fowlds was replaced as Sergeant by Philip Franks. Four long years later, Franks was gone. Somehow, Ventress remained a serving officer, when he clearly looked too old by this time. Jason Durr left in 2003, to be replaced by young actor James Carlton, who has only lasted in the show for a year. These frequent changes in the cast have not helped the series. And Ventress is still there! How old does he have to get before they pension him off?

Heartbeat was once a fine and relevant drama, but it is now just decorative fluff. I am told it still gets good viewing figures, but I can only assume that is due to the attractive countryside, smart police uniforms and classic cars. It can't be the scripts.