Episode 1: In the Cotswold village of Pagford, grasping shopkeeper Howard Mollison (Michael Gambon), chairman of the local parish council, is eager to turn the village’s popular but dilapidated community hall into a money-making spa, bringing protests from honest solicitor Barry Fairbrother (Rory Kinnear). The council votes on the matter but with no clear majority.
When Barry suddenly dies, Howard urges his weak son Miles (Rufus Jones) to fill the vacancy, to the disgust of Miles’s wife, lingerie-shop owner Samantha (Keeley Hawes). Schoolmaster Colin Wall (Simon McBurney), the husband of Barry’s ally on the council, also runs for the position, as does Barry’s greedy brother Simon Price (Richard Glover), who bullies his son Arf (Joe Hurst). Who will triumph in an election fraught with passion, duplicity and unexpected revelations?
Airdate: 2015, February15
Season 1 Episode 1
about the show
The citizens of the small British town of Pagford fight for the spot on the parish council after Barry Fairbrother dies.
cast
Keeley Hawes as Samantha Mollison
Michael Gambon as Howard Mollison
Rory Kinnear as Barry Fairbrother
Julia McKenzie as Shirley Mollison
Joe Hurst as Arf Price
Sonny Ashbourne Serkis as Paul Price
Richard Glover as Simon Price
Rufus Jones as Miles Mollison
Abigail Lawrie as Krystal Weedon
UK | BBC One | 2015