Heartbeat Watch
Heartbeat is ITV's long-running drama, set in the mythical Yorkshire village of Aidensfield. We have been avid fans for many years. The series starts in 1964 (and was first broadcast in 1992). Time in Aidensfield seems to have stretched and it's still 1969 there now and looks likely to remain so for many years to come.
Episode 23 - Keeping Secrets
Rob and Helen finally get married (another marriage of "heart" and "beat"). They planned a quiet affair, but Rob's sisters had other ideas and Heartbeat had another surprise wedding party, with Gina providing the usual wedding buffet. Even Peggy offered to help (for once without asking for payment!) and provided splendid room decorations from parachute silk and foliage, very glamorous! And as is the tradition, according to Peggy Armstrong, there were two wedding cakes, one provided by the elusive Mrs Ventress and the other beautifully decorated by Debbie Bellamy, who had just recently been discharged (allegedly) from the clinic treating her for alcoholism. I say "allegedly" as during the reception, Debbie is seen slipping quietly away to another room to take a secret drop of vodka from a supply hidden in a cupboard. I am sure many of you will draw comparisons with the supposedly "quiet" marriage of Mike and Jackie Bradley a few years previous. There are other similarities too - class-conscious parents of the brides who looked down on their humble copper son-in-laws.
This one had plenty of the feel good factor. We loved Bernie's old taxi done up with ribbons and the live band singing wonderful songs of the era. Wouldn't it be fantastic to live in a village like Aidensfield where the community spirit is truly alive!
Anorak bit
We spotted modern pine doors in Mr Stephens' cottage. Also I wasn't too happy with the Jag owned by Helen's parents - they were more flash than posh and worse, it was getting on a bit for 1969. If you remember "This Sporting Life" (1963) - Frank Machin, (played by Richard Harris) a Rugby League player, had a Jag like this one and he bought it second-hand. They should have borrowed Matthew Trent's 420 G or may be a Vanden Plas Princess 4 Litre R might have given the right blend of snobbery on the cheap.
Episode 22 - This Happy Breed
"This Happy Breed" is the title of a film by Noel Coward about a typical English family in the inter-war years. This episode of Heartbeat tells the story of how Sergeant Miller's old CO, Captain Mike ‘Mac’ Mackenzie comes to Aidensfield ostensively to recruit Miller, whom he calls Millie, to be his assistant in an outward bound centre. Actually he is planning to rob an army payroll convoy and use Miller's inside knowledge.
Sergeant Miller's courage is tested to the limit, as is his judgement, when his former pal threatens both him and PC Rob Walker with a revolver.
Mac's plans include the theft of a bread van. We are treated to some shots of a council estate in the 60s. I'm a little surprised by the lack of cars parked in the streets, but otherwise there is nothing to tell it's not completely in period.
Overall this is quite a believable and entertaining story. Next week the long awaited wedding of Dr Helen Trent and PC Rob Walker (another union of "heart" - for the doctor and "beat" for the bobby).
How realistic is Heartbeat?
Clearly Aidensfield has far more of its share of crime than most villages, but aside from this, how realistic a portrayal is Heartbeat of life in the sixties?
Steam trains
I'm sorry, but this is the one thing that really bugs me about the series. The last steam train ran on a British Rail service in 1968 and most lines had stopped using them several years before. So Aidensfield Station would not have had steam trains. I know they look great and are really nostalgic, but in the sixties most people were happy to have the clean, modern diesels and the electric trains that replaced them.
Of course as soon as steam trains stopped running on mainline services bands of enthusiasts clubbed together and did their best to save them from the looming threat of the breaker's yard (and thank goodness they did). Most of the steam services, run by volunteers, began in the late sixties and early seventies.
In fact the station used in the series was closed in 1965. A campaign to re-open the line began in 1968. They finally succeeded when the North Yorkshire Moors Railway between Grosmont and Pickering opened in 1975. See North Yorkshire Moors Railway for more details. Perhaps this could be the subject of an episode of Heartbeat. I can imagine Peggy Armstrong being involved somewhere and Oscar Blaketon not liking the idea!
More Heartbeat on the Web
ITV's Heartbeat Page
Facts about the Heartbeat TV series and characters from ITV.
ITV HeartbeatHeartbeat - the TV Series
Visit www.nicholasrhea.co.uk/heartbeat/ a fantastic site about Heartbeat, its characters and author.