A Year in Provence

Peter Mayle's best seller, recounting the first year he and his wife spent in Provence, is brought wonderfully to life in this BBC adaptation starring John Thaw and Lindsay Duncan. Having decided to leave their jobs, London and the rat race behind them, the Mayles head off to the South of France, seduced by the prospect of the idyllic countryside, the simple rural way of life, great food, fine wines and sun. However, everything is not quite as they imagined it to be, and one comic situation follows another as they brave mistral winds, truffle season and its mafia involvement as a succession of colourful characters that constantly interrupt their plan for a quiet life.