The Darling Buds of May (TV series)

The Darling Buds of May
Series titles
Starring	David Jason Pam Ferris Philip Franks Catherine Zeta-Jones
Theme music composer	Pip Burley
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	3
No. of episodes	20 (list of episodes) Preview warning: Page using Template:Infobox television with "list_episodes" parameter using self-link. See Infobox instructions and MOS:INFOBOXPURPOSE.
Production
Running time	50 minutes approx.
Production companies	Excelsior Productions Yorkshire Television
Original release
Network	ITV
Release	7 April 1991 (1991-04-07) – 4 April 1993 (1993-04-04)
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

The Darling Buds of May is a British comedy drama television series, produced by Yorkshire Television for the ITV network, first broadcast between 7 April 1991 and 4 April 1993. The first six episodes of Series 1 and the first two of Series 2 are adaptations of the 1958 novel of the same name, and three of its four sequels, by H. E. Bates. The remaining episodes are original storylines based on the same format.

Set in rural 1950s Kent, it follows the life of the Larkin family. It starred David Jason as "Pop" Larkin alongside Pam Ferris as "Ma" Larkin, with Catherine Zeta-Jones playing their eldest daughter Mariette, who marries tax inspector Cedric "Charley" Charlton, played by Philip Franks. A ratings success, it was Zeta-Jones's breakout role.

Featuring a total of 20 episodes, it was broadcast as three series of six double-episode story lines in the spring of 1991, 1992 and 1993, plus two single-episode Christmas specials aired in 1991 and 1992.

The title is from the third line of Shakespeare's sonnet 18.