Mother Love

Mother Love is a 1989 BBC British television drama. It was adapted by Andrew Davies from Domini Taylor's (Roger Longrigg's) 1983 novel concerning a mother's obsessive love for her son, vengeful hatred of his father, her ex-husband, and the effect on her daughter-in-law and grandchildren. It starred Diana Rigg, David McCallum, James Wilby, and Fiona Gillies, and was directed by Simon Langton. Christopher "Kit" Vesey (James Wilby) and Angela Vesey (Fiona Gillies), a British yuppie couple, enjoy a seemingly idyllic life. Yet there is one troubling factor in their lives - Kit's mother Helena (Diana Rigg), an eccentric and often difficult woman consumed by anger with Kit's father (David McCallum), a famed conductor with whom she believes Kit has no contact. Her oddness is confirmed in a series of incidents involving her ex-husband and his second wife Ruth (Isla Blair), an artist. Flashbacks throughout the series reveal bits of Helena's troubled past. Little by little, the young couple's life begins to fall apart as Helena begins to act out her feelings of intense jealousy and desire for revenge, implicating a dear old friend and leading to murder. Cast Diana Rigg as Helena James Wilby as Kit David McCallum as Alex Fiona Gillies as Angela Isla Blair as Ruth James Grout as George Batt Liliana Komorowska as Danuta Ann Firbank as Mrs Turner Jeffry Wickham as Brigadier Turner Holly Aird as Emily Grant Parsons as Leo Amelia Shankley as Harriet Deborah Grant as Helena's Mother Romolo Bruni as Waiter Natasha Byrne as Rachel Turner Katharyn Ballantine as Tiggy Turner Gary Fairhall as Photographer Gareth Forwood as Boris Michael Dore as Singer Louisa Janes as Young Helena Anna Price as Maureen Colin Stinton as Concert Hall Manager Margaret Boyle as Neighbour John Grillo, Carl Duering as Art Critics Irene Marot as Woman Journalist Susan McCulloch as Soprano Joan Bakewell as TV Commentator Cordelia Roche as Jordan Jonathan Burn as Chief Inspector Strachan Trevor Cooper as Sergeant Bear Rob Edwards as Consultant Elizabeth Ash as Vicky Franco Trevisi as Rossini Timothy Kightley as Vicar Angela Goodwin as Betsy Lazerhorn Penny Darch as Miss Pope Rosemary Frankau as School Secretary Dominic St.