Christabel (TV series)

Christabel is a four-part British drama series first shown on BBC2 between 16 November and 7 December 1988.^[1]

Christabel
Genre	Drama
Based on	The Past Is Myself by Christabel Bielenberg
Written by	Dennis Potter
Directed by	Adrian Shergold
Starring	Elizabeth Hurley Stephen Dillane Nigel Le Vaillant Geoffrey Palmer Ann Bell Ralph Brown
Composer	Stanley Myers
Country of origin	Great Britain
No. of episodes	4
Production
Producer	Kenith Trodd
Cinematography	Remi Adefarasin
Editor	Clare Douglas
Running time	60 minutes
Release
Original network	BBC2
Original release	16 November (1988-11-16) – 7 December 1988 (1988-12-07)

It is based on the memoirs of Christabel Bielenberg, an English woman married to a German lawyer during World War II. The screenplay was written by Dennis Potter, and was directed by Adrian Shergold. Each episode runs around 65 minutes. It stars Elizabeth Hurley in one of her earliest leading roles.

Part of the series was filmed at the disused Camperdown Works jute mill complex in Dundee, which doubled for 1940s Berlin.^[2] Other scenes were filmed in Hungary and Austria.

Synopsis

An Englishwoman's love for a German lawyer is at the heart of one of the most extraordinary stories of the Second World War. Christabel Burton's aspiration of living in harmony with her husband Peter Bielenberg is shattered when Germany slips into the full horror of the Nazi regime and war is declared. Life for Christabel and Peter becomes a fight to survive, a struggle to hold on to human decency.^[3]

In the first episode, as wedding bells peal out across the English countryside, the bride's father is begging her to change her mind. The village congregation is shocked when the bridegroom responds in German. But Christabel insists on making an "impossible decision" – a commitment to married life in a country soon to be at war with her own.^[3]

Cast

Actor	Role
Elizabeth Hurley	Christabel Bielenberg
Stephen Dillane	Peter Bielenberg
Geoffrey Palmer	Mr Burton
Ann Bell	Mrs Burton
Nigel Le Vaillant	Adam von Trott zu Solz
Sam Kelly	Carl Langbehn

Home media

A VHS of the series, running 148 minutes, was released in the US by CBS/Fox Video in 1989.

A DVD containing a shortened 2-hour version was released by Guillotine Films in 2004.

References

1. , BFI Film & TV database
2. Watson, Mark (1990). Jute and Flax Mills in Dundee. Tayport: Hutton Press. p. 157. ISBN 0-907033-51-2.
3. Gibraltar Chronicle newspaper; Entertainment Guide section; 13 April 1995; Page 9

External links

• Christabel at IMDb