TV Tie-ins: No Bananas

No Bananas was produced by Peter Norris for BBC Television in association with BBC Worldwide. The series was created and written by Ginnie Hole and ran for 10 episodes broadcast between May and July 1996. The episodes were directed by Alan Dosser, Roger Bamford, Moira Armstrong and Robert Tronson . The cast included Alison Steadman, Michael Elwyn, Rachel Power, Tim Matthews, Stephanie Beacham, Michael Byrne, Paloma Baeza, Tom Bell, Edna Dore, Linda Bassett, Dorian Healy, Gregor Truter, Rachel Pickup and John Westwood. IMDB. As far as I'm aware, the series is not currently available on DVD.

The series shared the thematic premise of two social classes brought together by marriage that was central to The Spoils of War, which we covered earlier this week.

No Bananas by Peter Cave
Penguin 0140-25710-1, 1996, 250pp, £4.99. Cover photo by Nicky Johnston [FC photo: Rachel Pickup, Domic Rowan, Rachel Power]

September 1939—war breaks out and two very different families are drawn together by an ill-starred marriage of convenience.
__Harry Slater and Mary Hamilton share political beliefs but were born on opposite sides of the social spectrum. The announcement of their marriage surprises everyone, not least Harry's childhood sweetheart Kaye. On their disastrous wedding day, Mary's secret comes to light, the Slaters and Hamiltons clash and the police pay an unexpected call...
__As hostilities commence at home and abroad, family feuds also bubble to the surface. The Slater family is divided as eldest son Tom is released from prison, Clifford runs off to sea and a starving woman appears in the air-raid shelter. The Hamiltons struggle as the harsh imperatives of wartime bite into their comfortable existence and their cosy assumptions collapse around them.
__Sometimes funny, sometimes moving, No Bananas is a compelling story of courage and survival amidst the tragedy and chaos of wartime Britain.