Little Gems - Earthfasts Written by William Mayne

Earthfasts was a superb children's drama adapted from the book written by William Mayne in 1966. William Mayne won the Carnegie Medal for children's literature in 1957. Earthfasts was part of a trilogy of books concerning the legend of King Arthur (Cradelfasts published in 1995 and Candlefasts published 2000 being the other two). The book was written many years ago in 1966 but the drama was finally adapted for television in 1994 written by Marilyn Fox (an absolute giant in children's television - Five Children and It, Jackanory, The Cuckoo Sister, The Bells of Astercote, The Bakerstreet Boys just to name but a few). All the filming was undertaken around the towns of Richmond & Wensleydale in North Yorkshire. A unique feature of this drama was the telling of the story by Keith who also plays half of the lead role in the adventure.

There were a total of five episodes on BBC1 in 1994 each lasting approximately 25 minutes. The story began on Wednesday February 27th, 1994 and ran for five weeks until the 23rd March 1994.

This drama really was under estimated in terms of its appeal, acting, storyline and music. Even though it was produced in 1994 and so therefore is relative newcomer to the world of children's drama, it was still a great piece of work. Viewers might note that David was played by Paul Nicholls who later went on to star in loads of television programs including Eastenders (dozens of episodes playing Joe). Earthfasts was his first acting role on British television.

Written by	William Mayne

Keith	Chris Downs
David	Paul Nicholls
Nellie Jack John	Bryan Dick
Dr. Wix	David Hargreaves
Angry Woman	Judith Davis
Old Man	Geoffrey Banks
Eileen Watson	Ruth Holden
Frank Watson	Bobby Knutt
PC Hunter	Mark Jordon
Mrs. Heseltine	Kate Rutter
Mr. Heseltine	Terence Edmond
Photo Shop Assistant	Mark Crowshaw
Miss. Cook	Barbara Dryhurst
Police Sergeant	Nick Stringer
Dr Tate (headmaster)	Peter Barnes
Pianist	Philip Colman
Coroner	Kenneth Alan Taylor
Corroner's Officer	Peter Edbrook
Stranger at Inquest	Tony Capstick
School children	Lorraine Clayton, Simon Ingram, Calum MacKenzie, Natalie Mosley, James Penn & James Reynolds
King Arthur	Jonathan Howell


With thanks to Richmond castle	North Yorkshire English Heritage
Music composed by	Ilona Sekacz
Stunt Arranger	Sadie Eden & Peter Brayham
Visual Effects Designer	Tony Harding
Property Master	Bill Brown
Construction Manager	Roger Wilkins
Properties Buyer	Sue Templar
Design Assistant	Clara Morland
Make-up Design	Christine Powers & Shelley Webber
Costume Design	Pat Godfrey & Marion Lester-Card
Assistant Floor Managers	Matthew Napier & Nigel Watson
Production Assistant	Kathryn Harris
Location Manager	Camilla McNair
Production Manager	Charles Whaley
Vision Supervisor	Pete Lester
Sound	Martin Broadfoot & Andrew James
Sound supervisor	Martin Broadfoot
Dubbing mixer	John Downes & Derek Lancaster
Video Effects	Adam McInnes & Alison Rickman
Video Camera	Trevor Wimlett
Videotape Editor	Stephen Newnham
Production Associate	Alison Law
Lighting Director	John King
Designer	Humphrey Jaeger
Producer	Richard Callanan
Dramatised and Directed by	Marilyn Fox
Earthfasts © BBC MCMXCIV

Earthfasts is fondly remembered by those who have requested it. Comments, thoughts and suggestions etc. to the usual address.


Earthfasts - Main Page	Episode One	Episode Two	Episode Three	Episode Four	Episode Five

Keith	David
Nellie Jack John Cherry	Dr. Wix
Aunt Eileen	Uncle Frank
Mrs. Heseltine	Mr. Heseltine
Miss. Cook	Dr. Tate
PC Hunter	School Children 1
Coroner	Photo Shop Assistant
Police Sergeant	Inquest Stranger
School Children 2	School Children 3
Angry Woman	Old Man