When the local Lark Rise gossip, Mrs Mullins, discovers her daughter, Emily, is pregnant, she jumps to the conclusion that Daniel is the father.

Everyone rallies round to defend Daniel, even Robert and Emma, refusing to believe Mrs Mullins’s accusations. Laura, too, is supportive and pleads with Emily to reveal the true identity of her baby’s father. But Emily seems determined to keep the truth to herself, despite it fuelling the gossip about Daniel. Daniel is heartened by Laura’s faith in him but, when she receives a mysterious letter, Laura becomes pre-occupied and distant, and he wonders if she has begun to doubt him.

Meanwhile, at the post office, Dorcas is handing out bonuses to her staff. Minnie is delighted by her windfall and decides to offer the money to Alf, believing it will help to relieve his burdens. Instead, he angrily refuses her offer, his pride hurt. Later he wonders at the intensity of his reaction.

Mrs Mullins is telling anyone who will listen that Daniel is the baby’s father, and when he starts to behave suspiciously and is seen giving money to Emily in the newspaper office at night, even Dorcas starts to wonder if Daniel may indeed have a charge to answer. When she sees a telegram to Emily’s wealthy employers, confirming travel arrangements for their son, she goes to see Emily, who confirms her suspicions that Master Raymond is the father.

Despite Dorcas’s efforts to persuade Emily to tell her mother the truth, she is still scared of what her reaction will be. Mrs Mullins is furious at Dorcas’s interference, and when she finds Emily in possession of a large sum of money, she assumes it has come from her. When Dorcas denies it and points out the most likely source, Mrs Mullins finally realises her mistake about the identity of the baby’s father. With Queenie’s help, Emily at last finds the courage to explain the whole story to her mother – that she had hopes of Master Raymond marrying her, and had used Daniel as a go-between.

After a public apology from Mrs Mullins, Daniel’s reputation is restored in Candleford, but Laura is still acting strangely. When Dorcas questions her, she reveals that the letter she has received is from her former love, Fisher Bloom. He is writing with the news that he is returning and it has shaken Laura to the core.

Daniel is played by Ben Aldridge, Robert by Brendan Coyle, Emma by Claudie Blakley, Laura by Olivia Hallinan, Dorcas by Julia Sawalha, Minnie by Ruby Bentall and Alf by John Dagleish.

Sunday 7 March

8.00-9.00pm BBC ONE

When the Lark Rise school loses its teacher, Emma steps in and discovers a talent she never knew she had, as the period drama based on Flora Thompson’s novel continues. But Margaret, too, feels she is perfectly suited to the role, and an unexpected rivalry springs up. For Margaret, teaching offers a much-needed distraction from the heartbreak of remaining childless; while for Emma it is the chance to feel valued for something other than being a wife and mother.

Over in Candleford, Dorcas and Thomas are also at odds. Thomas is agitating about his working conditions but, when Dorcas won’t take his grievances seriously, he decides to start a union: The Candleford Post Office Letter Carriers Association, or CaPOLCA. Laura and Minnie are reluctant to join, but Thomas becomes increasingly militant, and relations between him and Dorcas go rapidly downhill.

Meanwhile, Minnie is on a mission to make herself beautiful so that Alf will notice her, and enlists the help of Laura and Dorcas to transform her. But Minnie’s new-found femininity suffers a blow when she falls over and gets a black eye. How can she face Alf now?

Despite the misgivings of their husbands, neither Margaret nor Emma will back down, so they are forced to share the role of schoolteacher. But, before long, they have set themselves up in competition with each other in their preparations for the school bazaar, with Emma heading up the boys’ team, and Margaret the girls’. Secretly, they both hope that if they perform their tasks well, it will be an opportunity to impress the school governors and further their teaching ambitions.

When Dorcas’s dispute with Thomas reaches childish proportions, she turns to Robert to arbitrate a solution. Robert’s intervention builds a bridge between them, and Thomas reveals the underlying reason for his dissatisfaction at work: his struggle to come to terms with Margaret’s apparent willingness to accept their childlessness and embrace a life dominated by work.

The day of the school bazaar arrives, but which team will win the school prize and what will it mean for Margaret and Emma’s future plans?

Lark Rise To Candleford is simulcast on the BBC HD channel – the BBC’s High Definition channel, available through Freesat, Sky and Virgin Media.

Pearl (Matilda Ziegler) learns some difficult lessons

Pearl is in a state of panic, as the period drama based on Flora Thompson’s novels continues. She’s received a dressmaking commission from Lady Whiteleaf which could save her ailing business, but without Ruby there is no way she can do the work in time. That is, until Enid, a seamstress looking for a position, arrives in Candleford. Her needlework is exquisite and Pearl’s prayers seem to have been answered.

In the post office, Dorcas is excitedly showing off her brand-new, state-of-the-art kitchen range, with which she plans to cook a sumptuous Michaelmas feast. But when the range keeps mysteriously breaking down, Dorcas loses her customary cool. She becomes determined to master its secrets if it’s the last thing she does.

As Pearl and Enid work, the two women forge a touching friendship. Pearl feels free to be herself with Enid and share confidences about her life, while Enid is in awe of Pearl’s independence and strength of character. Enid seems completely at home in Candleford, a place where she feels women can be their own masters. But Dorcas is troubled by the speed of Pearl’s attachment to her new friend, and worries that all is not what it seems with Enid.

When the first part of Enid and Pearl’s dressmaking commission meets with the approval of Lady Whiteleaf and they are invited for dinner, Pearl is euphoric. They excitedly plan their outfits, but Pearl’s joy turns to shock and outrage when Enid turns up wearing trousers! Enid tries to recruit Pearl to her cause – to free women from the confines of their restrictive clothing – but a mortified Pearl throws her out of the shop.

When Pearl discovers that Enid is, in fact, a runaway wife and that her husband is offering a reward for her return, her sense of betrayal and humiliation is complete. Enid tells the women of Candleford the story of her stifling marriage and thwarted ambitions, while Pearl storms off to Inglestone to inform Enid’s husband of her whereabouts.

But when Pearl encounters Thomas, Daniel and Sydney on the road, she pauses to reflect on her actions, and begins to regret her rejection of Enid. Just then, the seamstress herself turns up and tells Pearl a few home truths about her behaviour, and how it isolates her from her neighbours. But will Pearl be able to forgive Enid, and learn how to be a true friend?

Matilda Ziegler plays Pearl, Hattie Morahan plays Enid, Julia Sawalha plays Dorcas, Mark Heap plays Thomas, Ben Aldridge plays Daniel and Edward Darnell-Hayes plays Sydney.

Lark Rise To Candleford is simulcast on the BBC HD channel – the BBC’s High Definition channel, available through Freesat, Sky and Virgin Media.

Daniel (Ben Aldridge) begins a newspaper campaign

When Daniel learns that Old Peg Leg, a Crimean war veteran who has been visiting Lark Rise for years, has received no pension despite his war injuries, he starts a newspaper campaign protesting against this injustice, as the period drama based on Flora Thompson’s novels continues.

Laura is delighted that Daniel has settled in Candleford and even her parents are pleased at the commitment he is showing. But when Daniel presents Laura with his grandmother’s brooch as a token of his affection, she finds she is not ready for such declarations and refuses to accept it.

Thomas meanwhile, inspired by a self-help book, sets about trying to transform himself into a “thrusting” success, though Margaret, it turns out, likes him just the way he is.

Daniel’s campaign on Peg Leg’s behalf has attracted huge attention and a London newspaper has come to take a photo of the veteran for their front page. But just as Peg Leg’s plight looks set to become a cause célèbre, Emma discovers a large sum of money hidden inside his wooden leg – he is not the destitute beggar they all thought, but a rich man.

Emma is devastated by his betrayal, and when Daniel learns of it, he feels he must expose Peg Leg, even if it ruins his reputation as a journalist. Dorcas though, points out that there is a greater cause at stake.

The dishonest veteran flees Candleford and hides in the woods but when Dorcas, Emma, Laura and Daniel finally track him down, he explains the painful reason behind his decision to hoard his money and never settle down. The trauma of lying injured on the battlefield has left him with a deep fear of staying in one place.

Meanwhile, Laura is still struggling to understand her reaction to Daniel’s gift until Dorcas helps her see that she should just enjoy young love for now, until she is ready for more.

Ben Aldridge plays Daniel, Olivia Hallinan plays Laura, Mark Heap plays Thomas, Sandy McDade plays Margaret, Claudie Blakley plays Emma and Julia Sawalha plays Dorcas.

Lark Rise To Candleford is simulcast on the BBC HD channel – the BBC’s High Definition channel, available through Freesat, Sky and Virgin Media.

Everyone in Candleford is talking about the mysterious recluse Mr Reppington, played by special guest Tom Conti, who has been hiding himself away in the Golden Lion Hotel for months, as the period drama based on Flora Thompson’s novels continues.

Dorcas is fascinated by the lonely existence of Mr Reppington, so when he sends her a cipher inviting her to meet him at midnight in the hotel gardens, she is thrilled to accept. But when she questions his solitary lifestyle, he brings their rendezvous to an abrupt end. It isn’t long before Daniel uncovers that he is, in fact, missing celebrated concert pianist William Bourne. The story could be a big scoop for Daniel but Laura urges him to do the decent thing and not reveal Bourne’s secret.

Ruby and Pearl, meanwhile, are planning a fashion show to increase business. While Minnie is helping the Pratts with the preparations, she is horrified to realise that Ruby is planning to run away, and is anxious about the hurt that Ruby’s sudden departure could cause.

Over in Lark Rise, Emma feels the romance is ebbing from her marriage and a wink from a soldier momentarily turns her head. When Daniel – quite by chance – sees the encounter, Emma worries he will tell Laura. When she receives an anonymous love letter, she assumes Daniel and the soldier have been playing a joke on her.

Dorcas is determined to entice Bourne out of his lonely existence and arranges for a piano to be taken to the hotel for him to play. Though he refuses, he reveals the reason for his withdrawal from society: he is grieving over the recent death of a woman, originally from Candleford, whom he loved but gave up for his career.

In a last, desperate attempt to engage Bourne with the world again, Dorcas takes him to Lark Rise, hoping that he will be moved by the music he hears there. But is it enough?

Tom Conti plays Mr Reppington, Julia Sawalha plays Dorcas, Ben Aldridge plays Daniel, Olivia Hallinan plays Laura, Victoria Hamilton plays Ruby, Matilda Ziegler plays Pearl, Ruby Bentall plays Minnie and Claudie Blakley plays Emma.

Lark Rise To Candleford is simulcast on the BBC HD channel – the BBC’s High Definition channel, available through Freesat, Sky and Virgin Media.

Sydney’s (Edward Darnell-Hayes) day of fun turns sour

It’s harvest time and, when Alf is crowned “king of the mowers”, he vows to bring in the harvest in record time, as the third series of the period drama based on the novels by Flora Thompson continues.

Every man, woman and child in the hamlet is employed cutting the wheat and collecting the “leazings”, or leftover wheat, which will feed them through the winter. Dorcas decides a day of fun with the Lark Rise children at the harvest is just what her serious little boy, Sydney, needs.

Alf sets his workers off at a cracking pace and Dorcas is delighted to see Sydney making mischief with Archie Arless. When Dorcas takes Sydney home, he is glowing after his day in the sun with his new friends.

Daniel pays a surprise visit to Candleford. Despite his passionate feelings for Laura, he has come to announce that he has taken a new job in Cambridge. The distance is too great for regular visits and Laura is left perplexed and disappointed at Daniel’s sudden change of heart.

The following morning, Dorcas goes to wake Sydney and finds him dangerously ill with measles. She puts the Post Office into quarantine and devotes herself to nursing Sydney, terrified that her beloved boy will be taken away. Over in Lark Rise, Frank and Annie Timmins are also sick, and before long most of the children in the hamlet are infected. Daniel is leaving Candleford in a coach when he comes across Sally Arless struggling to carry her poorly brother, Archie, home. Daniel steps in to help and, putting thoughts of leaving to one side, he offers his support to the Lark Risers as they struggle to deal with a measles epidemic.

With nearly all the children sick and the women occupied in nursing them, the hamlet faces a grave problem. With too few people in the fields bringing in the wheat, they won’t have enough food to prevent starvation in the winter. But Robert refuses to allow the epidemic to beat them and, in a rousing speech to the hamlet folk, he persuades them of a scheme which just might avert disaster. The children will be nursed together in Queenie’s cottage, while those who can work in the fields will pool their wheat among all the families in the hamlet.

But Daniel quickly realises that there are simply not enough people to go round, and he rushes off to Candleford with an idea. In a speech which echoes Robert’s in Lark Rise, Daniel makes a heartfelt appeal to the people of Candleford to help out their neighbours in Lark Rise. Laura looks on with pride. But will the Candleford gentlefolk rise to the challenge?

The epidemic finally passes, but it leaves the two communities changed for ever.

John Dagleish plays Alf, Julia Sawalha plays Dorcas, Edward Darnell-Hayes plays Sydney, Harry Miles plays Archie Arless, Ben Aldridge plays Daniel, Olivia Hallinan plays Laura, Sophie Miles plays Sally Arless, Brendan Coyle plays Robert and Linda Bassett plays Queenie.

Lark Rise To Candleford is simulcast on the BBC HD channel – the BBC’s High Definition channel, available through Freesat, Sky and Virgin Media.

When Alf secures a “man’s wage” from the farmer, enabling him and his siblings to move back into the family cottage, he couldn’t be prouder, and throws a party to celebrate. Laura intercepts a letter addressed to Alf from prison – fearing it may contain bad news from his ma, she decides to delay its delivery so his special day isn’t spoiled. As the beer and the merriment flow, Alf sings a song he learnt from a traveller. Its haunting words have a profound affect on his guests.

For Edmund, the song means freedom. He tells his parents he wants to leave school and work on the land. Emma is devastated – she always wanted more for Edmund, and when she discovers he has passed his school exams with top marks, it only fuels her determination to change his mind. But when she confronts Edmund in the Wagon and Horses, her argument against a career which she thinks is beneath him only makes him dig his heels in further, offending Alf and his fellow drinkers in the process. Edmund storms off to lodge with Queenie, where he feels he will be treated as a grown up.

Over in Candleford, the words from Alf’s song have got Dorcas thinking about love and family. She decides that Minnie is destined to one day be a wife and mother, and sets about giving her the necessary skills, sending her to Emma to learn baking and to the Pratts for sewing lessons. One day, a special delivery arrives from Caroline in prison – the “little something” she had promised Alf in her letter turns out to be his baby sister, Patience. When Minnie takes delivery of the baby, she sees it as the perfect opportunity to hone her maternal skills (and relieve Alf of an extra burden) and recruits Sydney to help her look after the infant in secret. The song has also cast its spell elsewhere in Candleford – Pearl and Ruby are at war over how to economise; while Thomas and Margaret have their first marital tiff.

Emma, meanwhile, is at loggerheads with Robert over her handling of the Edmund situation; Edmund is refusing to back down; and Alf is still smarting over Emma’s insult. Twister’s misguided efforts to bring harmony back to the hamlet only make matters worse, so it falls to Alf to set things right. He writes a new final verse to the song, and peace is finally restored. But what will Alf’s reaction be when he discovers he has yet another mouth to feed?

John Dagleish plays Alf, Olivia Hallinan plays Laura, Thomas Rhys Jones plays Edmund, Claudie Blakley plays Emma, Linda Bassett plays Queenie, Julia Sawalha plays Dorcas, Ruby Bentall plays Minnie, Matilda Ziegler plays Pearl, Victoria Hamilton plays Ruby, Mark Heap plays Thomas, Sandy McDade plays Margaret, Brendan Coyle plays Robert and Karl Johnson plays Twister.

Lark Rise To Candleford is simulcast on the BBC HD channel – the BBC’s High Definition channel, available through Freesat, Sky and Virgin Media.

Sunday 17 January
8.00-9.00pm BBC ONE

Daniel Parish returns to Candleford to try to win back Laura’s affections, as the series based on the novels by Flora Thompson, and adapted by Bill Gallagher, continues.

The first person he encounters is Robert, who challenges him to make amends with the people he has offended. Daniel promises not to see Laura until he has completed his task.

Thomas, meanwhile, can barely contain his excitement at the news that the Bishop is coming to Candleford to consecrate the new church font. But when Queenie notices a local tree starting to “bleed”, and the hamlet becomes rife with talk of witchcraft, Thomas is horrified – it could ruin the Bishop’s visit.

The tree seems to cast a spell over the whole community as everyone is starting to behave strangely. Twister is hearing voices; Robert is too unsettled to work; even the ever-poised Dorcas loses her composure, confusing Pearl Pratt for her sister Ruby, and letting out the shocking secrets each one has been concealing from the other.

With the Bishop due to arrive any day, Thomas employs increasingly desperate measures to try to restore order. When he discovers that Queenie intends to hold a pagan ritual to set free the spirit in the witch tree, he decides that he must put an end to this superstitious nonsense once and for all.

Daniel’s honest efforts to win the forgiveness of the community, meanwhile, are beginning to work. Emma, though, is not so easily won over. She wants him to promise to leave Lark Rise for ever, but can he turn his back so easily on his deepening relationship with Laura?

Ben Aldridge plays Daniel Parish, Brendan Coyle plays Robert Timmins, Olivia Hallinan plays Laura Timmins, Mark Heap plays Thomas Brown, Linda Bassett plays Queenie Turrill, Karl Johnson plays Twister Turrill, Julia Sawalha plays Dorcas Lane, Matilda Ziegler plays Pearl Pratt, Victoria Hamilton plays Ruby Pratt and Claudie Blakley plays Emma Timmins.

Lark Rise To Candleford is simulcast on the BBC HD channel – the BBC’s High Definition channel, available through Freesat, Sky and Virgin Media.

Love is in the air…

Sunday 10 January

8.00-9.00pm BBC ONE

BBC One’s winter warmer, Lark Rise To Candleford, starring Julia Sawalha, Olivia Hallinan, Brendan Coyle and Claudie Blakley, returns for a third series. Based on the novels by Flora Thompson, and adapted by Bill Gallagher, the new series continues to chronicle the lives of the hamlet folk of Lark Rise and the wealthier inhabitants of neighbouring Candleford.

Daniel Parish, a handsome and ambitious young journalist, arrives in Lark Rise with exciting news for the Timmins family. Emma’s aunt has died, leaving her a large inheritance. All Daniel seeks in return for this information is permission to write their rags-to-riches story for his newspaper.

The legacy, however, seems too good to be true. It could buy them a whole new life in Candleford, and Robert a business of his own, yet Emma is troubled by this potential windfall and worries that Robert desires this new life more than she does.

Laura and Daniel, meanwhile, find a connection through their shared love of writing. She opens her heart to him and shows him her private journal. But Dorcas is suspicious of Daniel’s motives and challenges him to write about love and community instead of sensation. When Daniel’s article is published, Laura is devastated to discover that Daniel has used the contents of her journal to mock her family and friends.

As the plans for the move to Candleford gather pace, Emma and Robert hide their growing unease about leaving their home. So when they discover that Emma is one of several claimants to the money, and stands to inherit only a tiny sum, they celebrate remaining in Lark Rise and the life they love there.

Daniel, too, has come to value the way of life in Lark Rise and desperately seeks to make amends. But can he convince anyone, especially Laura, to trust him again?

Ben Aldridge plays Daniel Parish, Claudie Blakley plays Emma Timmins, Brendan Coyle plays Robert Timmins, Olivia Hallinan plays Laura Timmins and Julia Sawalha plays Dorcas Lane.

Lark Rise To Candleford is simulcast on the BBC HD channel – the BBC’s High Definition channel, available through Freesat, Sky and Virgin Media.

Sunday 15 March

7.00-8.00pm BBC ONE

James Dowland is confined to his hospital bed when his son, Sidney, arrives in Candleford, as BBC One’s adaptation of Flora Thompson’s childhood memoirs concludes.

Dorcas welcomes the child into the Post Office, encouraging Laura and Ruby to do everything they can to make him feel at home there. As Sidney is introduced to the colourful characters of Candleford and the charming folk in Lark Rise, he becomes quite an object of local fascination. When James is at last released from hospital, however, he clashes with Dorcas over what’s in the best interests of the son he never knew he had.

Elsewhere, as the wedding of Thomas Brown and Miss Ellison fast approaches, anticipation and excitement grows among the people of Lark Rise and Candleford. Thomas is thrown into a torrent of uncertainty and anxiety by a few words from the common book of prayer, and Miss Ellison develops a strange disease of the skin which could be the result of her own anxieties. Will the betrothed couple ever make it down the aisle?

Jason Merrells plays James Dowland, Julia Sawalha plays Dorcas Lane, Olivia Hallinan plays Laura, Victoria Hamilton plays Ruby Pratt, Mark Heap plays Thomas Brown and Sandy McDade plays Miss Ellison.