Olivia Hallinan | Lark Rise to Candleford | Series Ends

Laura Timmins Goes out With a Bang!
...not literally though, that would have been great to watch but probably not allowed before the 9.00pm watershed. I am always surprised how beautiful Olivia Hallinan looks in those old fashioned dresses. I can not imagine how uncomfortable and inconvenient it would be to wear a corset. That must be a real nightmare, especially in the summer when you are drinking plenty of fluids to combat the heat. Although the summer of 2007 was not particularly warm in the UK, it was one of the strangest summers that I can remember. In June, monsoon-like rainfall flooded large areas of Britain. This included the location where Lark Rise to Candleford was being filmed and consequently disrupted the outdoor filming.

The final episode ended with the church society tea party or in other words Zillah's birthday celebrations. The grand finale was the demise of the sour faced and miserable housekeeper, Zillah (Liz Smith) much to the astonishment of young Laura Timmins and post mistress Dorcas Lane. It looks like I will have to alter at least one of the cast members for the next series in my cast list. This is not going to be a great loss to the program as this was one character that never really seemed to fit the bill. I hope that the BBC take my advice and remove Dawn French from the cast list for the second series. She was next to useless as the larger than life Caroline Arless. Considering the size of the cast for this production that is not too bad. I do have some concerns about how the BBC plan to precede with the story though. In this final episode Dorcas decided to sell the post office and go travelling with the proceeds. Laura Timmins (Olivia Hallinan) was distraught and made her feeling clear on the subject. This had all arisen when Lady Adelaide had seen her husband Sir Timothy Midwinter and Dorcas in a compromising positions. (what at tea-time?...No No No, they were just having a big friendly hug. In the end Adelaide and Sir Timothy decided to move to London. So Dorcas would not have to sell the post office after all...sadly though, she had already posted the documents via trusty devout Christian postman Thomas Brown (Mark Heap). Mark Heap is the guy who played Doctor Statham in Green Wing. He was also in the comedy sketch show "Big Train" and also played Brian (the artist) in Spaced. The man is a genius and fantastic at playing the role of people with weird personalities. He certainly added a bit of humour to the character of Thomas Brown. It was no surprise that in the final scene Thomas Brown produced the documents that had somehow not made it into the post bag.

So the stage is set for the second series next year. You have to imagine that being such a popular programme will propel Olivia Hallinan into the spotlight and get her some more television roles. Lets hope so...eh. How about a full length Hollywood film version of Sugar Rush?

The series at times was watched by over 7 million viewers. That's pretty impressive for an early evening programme. I enjoyed this series more than the recent Robin Hood, which tended to be quite silly throughout. I do like Lucy Griffiths who played Maid Marian in the series, but she was sadly killed in the final episode of series 2.

We must now wait for news of projects involving Olivia Hallinan. Let's hope it is not too long before she appears on our screens again. Until then it is DVD's, videos and television re-runs and repeats.

The End.

Olivia Hallinan | Corsets | Press Gang | Lark Rise

Lark Rise to Candleford - the End is Nigh
Olivia Hallinan is the sexy actress who plays Laura in Lark Rise to Candleford. Olivia Hallinan studied Drama and English at Manchester University for three years. So she is intelligent, attractive and a sublime British actress. The current series of Lark Rise to Candleford comes to an end this week when the tenth and final episode is shown on BBC1. The programme has been a huge success for the BBC and a second series has already been commissioned. I firmly believe that this success is down to the brilliant acting of Olivia Hallinan as the main character Laura Timmins.

Some Strange Connections
In a television interview Olivia Hallinan said that Lark to Candleford was filmed on location just outside Bristol, which is the largest city in the south west of England and is located between Somerset and Gloucestershire. The set was built from scratch from some farm buildings. The interior scenes where filmed in a luxury warehouse, whatever that is! She also expressed some relief at not being type cast as the lesbian from Sugar Rush, saying that people now recognised her as the girl from the costume drama instead. The most interesting point that Olivia Hallinan made was that she had plenty of work in the pipeline. Hopefully we will be seeing quite a lot more of Olivia on our television screens this year. In another interview, Julia Sawalha answered very similar questions to those put to Olivia Hallinan, obviously created from information available in the BBC press pack. This was disappointing as nothing new was learnt about the making of Lark Rise to Candleford. Most of the interview was about the discomfort caused by wearing a corset during filming. Julia Sawalha is probably best known for her role as the over bearing editor Lynda Day in the children’s programme Press Gang. It was a Bafta Award Winning children's comedy drama series about the running of a school newspaper, the Junior Gazette. It ran from 1989 - 1993 and included some other faces that you might recognise. Paul Reynolds was the Thatcherite, Colin Mathews and he also appears in Lark Rise to Candleford as the beer salesman. Reynolds also made a few appearances in the highly acclaimed sitcom Absolutely Fabulous with who Julia Sawalha played the role of studious Saffron Monsoon, alongside Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley. Reynolds and Sawalha also crossed paths in the comedy series "Time Gentlemen Please" which starred Al Murray as the pub landlord.

Cheeky Face
In Episode 9 of Lark Rise to Candleford in the Post Office scene where everyone is sat around the table discussing a piece of mysterious needlework found at a graveside, Dorcas Lane tells Laura off for making up wild fantasy's due to reading too many books. This is when we get to see Laura Timmins' 'cheeky face'. It was the best moment in the entire series acted with sheer brilliance by the cast. The episode suffered the same fate as many of the earlier ones. Dawn French's character is the weakest link in this series. I'm sure the BBC thought that French would add some humour to the programme but her acting is terrible and has ruined the entire series. If the BBC wants to improve this programme for the second series they have to give this role to someone who can act or alter the storylines.

Is Olivia Hallinan a Lesbian in Real Life?
I have seen quite a lot of forum posts and questions asking if Olivia Hallinan is a lesbian in real life. This is a tough question because you never know for sure what people get up to behind closed doors. In interviews Olivia Hallinan has always said that she is straight and so that is the answer. There is no reason to doubt this answer at the present time. I’m not sure if people will be pleased or disappointed about this! It is a compliment to her great acting that people were very convinced by her performance. In one interview I read she said that she just imagined that Lenora Crichlow (Sugar) was Brad Pitt. I read some interesting posts on a forum recently where people suggested that you would not employ a criminal to play a criminal as part of this argument. This is quite a good response but it is human nature to wonder about a television personality’s sexuality particularly if they portray a gay character on the screen. Michael Obiara is a straight actor that plays the character of a gay hotel receptionist in BBC1’s Hotel Babylon. He does this brilliantly and is very convincing in his role as Ben Trueman. Michael began his career at the age of seven and starred in several children’s television programmes during his rise to fame.

Well that is everything up to date for now. Remember to watch the last episode of Lark Rise to Candleford. It will be your last chance to see Olivia Hallinan in her corset for quite a while, unless you buy the DVD of course, or you record the series – that’s a good idea. If anything remotely interesting comes to light in respect of Olivia Hallinan I will get it scribbled down and posted here.

Cheers.

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Updated 03/04/2009

Olivia Hallinan | Reality Television

The Death of Television as we know it!
It’s been quite a while since my last post and I apologise for the long wait. The problem is there is very little new information about Olivia Hallinan to add at the moment. I have done quite a lot of work but found nothing of real interest. Lark Rise to Candleford is drawing to a close now and it may be a while before we see Olivia Hallinan on screen for a while. The next series is not due to be broadcast until 2009. The first series was quite good but the casting could have been better, by now you will know which character let the side down. It is hoped that the BBC realise their mistake before filming the second series. Olivia Hallinan will bring in all the viewing figures required without adding a silly comedienne with no acting skills. It makes my blood boil. Ben Miles has been very good in this series as Sir Timothy Midwinter, much different to his part in comedy series “Coupling”. The Pratt sisters live up to their name quite well and can be extremely annoying. This may be good acting on their part, unless of course they really two of the worlds most annoying people.

The problem is that television drama is in decline and this is largely due to an invasion of reality television. I can understand the importance of idolising television personalities that we find admirable. Recognising a skilful artist and watching them rise to fame is an enjoyable past-time. Olivia Hallinan is a good example of this type of scenario. There should be many more skilful actors coming through the ranks but they are few and far between. This is one way in which reality television could damage television industry in the long term. This obsession with making celebrities from ordinary folks in the guise of reality television is undermining the foundations that television is based on. The myriad of programmes where ordinary people are made famous is hindering the progress of many genuinely talented people. Instead of creating drama or short films, television companies are making poor quality television programmes on the cheap. It pays for itself with telephone charges and advertising revenue. In future we will not see talented actresses like Olivia Hallinan progressing through the ranks. If the current trend continues the only options available will be soap operas and an audition on X factor. This is bad news for the intelligent viewers who want to watch stimulating and thought provoking television. Just as bad are the Dancing on Ice type of show with D list celebrities usually selected as past contestants on reality shows!

Cirque de Celebrite is a prime example of taking this type of programme too far. The programme was broadcast on Sky One with Ruby Wax as the host in the first series. I genuinely thought that this programme was a comedy spoof of other reality/celebrity programmes. I was surprised to find it was a genuine addition to the growing array of idiotic viewing fodder. They had the actor Lee MacDonald (Grange Hill’s Zammo Maguire) fitted out in a skin tight Lyca suit swinging from a rope like an ungraceful monkey. It was a programme where celebrities tackled circus tricks in front of a live studio audience in a large circular tent (Big-top). It was simply ridiculous, yet people tuned in and voted for their favourites. This begs the question, what will we be subjected to next? I know where the off switch is and I do use it. I spend more time away from a television set now than ever before, using the computer or having a go at other hobbies. Television is going
out of fashion and will soon be obsolete.

As stated in my last post Cafépress has a range of items with the Sugar Kiss design inspired by the relationship of Olivia Hallinan (Kim Daniels) and Lenora Crichlow (Maria Sweet aka Sugar) in channel 4’s Sugar Rush. It is a black and pink text design on a white background. If you’re not familiar with Cafepress it is a really cool website where you can design your own products and sell them online.

The sugar kiss design is available in:-

Apparel – that clothes to you and me!

Baby clothes

Housewares

Hats and Bags

Stickers, Buttons and Magnets

Calendars, Journals and more…

I’m sure I saw some cool badges with this design as well. Worth checking it out if you're into this type of thing!

Wikipedia is a Great Source for Information
I always use Wikipedia to cross reference dates, times and other facts that I am not one hundred percent certain about. It is generally a very reliable source of information, although not always entirely accurate. I noticed that they have recently edited their entries on Olivia Hallinan. There is now a small amount of information about Olivia's younger sister ClemencyHallinan who is also an actress. She played the character of Anna (the Mum) in Uncle Dad. Wikipedia only has a small amount of information on this celebrity, mostly gathered from interviews and internet fan sites.

Olivia Hallinan is great at doing voice over and narration on the television and radio. That is probably why she was chosen to do the advertisements for Witch Natural Beauty products. I do not wish to advertise the products here but they are by Skincare and there are three flavours to choose from in this range. There is a foaming face wash, exfoliating face wash and Radiance Serum. Damn it, just advertised the products…The adverts are humorous, with people slopping all kinds of alternatives onto there faces in the search for beauty. Olivia Hallinan has a great voice and now you have read this you will recognise it when you see the adverts on television. It may not be exciting but some adverts are better than the programmes that precede them these days. You can watch all these advertisements on the skincare website.

Marguerite Duras – The Lover on Radio 4
Olivia Hallinan played the part of the girl in Linda Marshall Griffiths’ dramatisation of Marguerite Duras’ erotic novel ‘The Lover’. The radio programme was broadcast between the 3^rd and 7^th of September 2007. Marguerite Duras, a French writer and film director wrote the lover as a semi-autobiographical story set in Vietnam during the 1930’s.

That's all the news on Olivia Hallinan for now but as soon as anything crosses my path I will post it here. Cheers.

Olivia Hallinan | Sugar Rush | Cast

Sugar Rush - Channel 4's Lesbian Teen Drama Series
Olivia Hallinan heads the celebrity cast list of Sugar Rush as she played the central character, Kim Daniels. Sugar Rush was based on the book of the same title written by Julie Burchill. The television version did not follow the same story as the book, episodes were written by Katie Baxendale, Julie Burchill, Jane English and Liz Doran. The programme used the following directors Harry Bradbeer, Sean Grundy, Philip John. Johnny Capps was the producer and Julian Murphy the executive producer on the show. Sugar Rush was broadcast in the UK by Channel 4 between 2005 and 2006.

Sugar Rush - Cast List

Olivia Hallinan – Kim Daniels

Lenora Crichlow – Sugar (aka Maria Sweet)

Richard Lumsden – Nathan

Sara Stewart – Stella

Kurtis O’Brien – Matt

Neil Jackson – Dale

Sarah-Jane Potts – Saint

Andrew Garfield – Tom

Mathew Vaughan – Dave

Jalaal Hartley – Mark

Anna Wilson Jones – Anna

Kate Lyne Evans - ?

Daniel Coonan – David

Laura Donnelyl – Beth

Thure Lindhardt – Dmitri

Montanna Thompson – Anabelle

Lucy Griffiths – Lettie

You can see that this is a much smaller cast than Lark Rise to Candleford. Reading through this list of celebrity names brings back some good memories.

If you did not see the programme it is worth buying the DVDs.

That is all for today Olivia Hallinan fans, but I will bring more information as I get it. Since posting my products page I have discovered the Sugar Kiss range of clothing inspired by Sugar Rush and exclusively for girls who like girls. I will write this up at some point for those interested in this type of product or merchandise.

Olivia Hallinan is currently starring as Laura Timmins in the BBC1 adaptation of Lark Rise to Candleford. I have added some new information about the making of the series taken from interviews with the cast.

Lark Rise to Candleford - the end is Nigh!

I still see lots of forum posts from people lamenting the end of Sugar Rush. I'm not too bothered now that Lark Rise has been given a second series. I think Olivia looks great in her costume whereas all the other cast members look a bit shoddy. Maybe that's just how I see it!

Olivia Hallinan | Charlotte Coleman

Comparing Sweet Sugar to the Wholesome Orange
In my last post I mentioned Oranges are not the only Fruit which was a book written by Jeanette Winterton published in 1985. In the BBC television drama of the same story the main character Jess, a teenage lesbian was played by Charlotte Ninon Coleman. The story was not just about a homosexual girl coping with adolescence but also the strict religious regime of her adoptive family. The story appears similar to Sugar Rush but is considerably different in all aspects. Charlotte Coleman and Olivia Hallinan have shared similar career paths although following different time lines. It is interesting to note that both of their mothers were also actresses. Coleman is the daughter of Anne Beach. Olivia Hallinan’s mother is an actress who runs an acting school in west London. Charlotte Coleman and Olivia Hallinan both started out making children’s television programmes and expanded into theatre, film and mainstream television work. Charlotte Coleman played the character of Scarlett in the box office hit “Four Weddings and a Funeral”. Sadly Charlotte Coleman died from an asthma attack 14^th November 2001, aged 33.

It goes without saying that both girls played similar characters in mainstream television drama programmes. It may be a coincidence that producers gave Kim Daniels similar red/orange coloured hair in Sugar Rush. I hoped that this might have been a conscious tribute to Charlotte Coleman and her portrayal of Winterton’s Jessica, but it is more likely to be just a colourful coincidence. The connection with oranges in the programme is quite intriguing. When Jess is in hospital her adoptive mother brings a huge string bag of oranges and drops them quite aggressively onto the bed. In another scene there is a huge stack of oranges clearly visible on a table in the background. Oranges appear to be very symbolic and important to the theme of this story. Sugar Rush is considered to be controversial but in my opinion it only ever reflected aspects of society in a static way. Oranges are not the Only Fruit was more dynamic and challenged preconceptions and the ignorant intolerance of some religions to homosexuality. It was written with a dry sense of humour that brought Jess and the other characters to life.

If you have never watched Oranges are not the Only Fruit it is possible to find it on video website YouTube. A kind soul has posted the entire film chopped into several parts to keep the file size smaller. You will need a good internet connection speed to view these video clips on your computer. It is an excellent piece of television despite the rather heavy religious overtone. Despite the more serious approach this drama is quite a powerful work and is used in university courses for the purpose of studying literature. I hope this helps explain my opinion and why I believe Sugar Rush should not be labelled controversial in a modern society.

The respective books from which both these dramas evolved are very different. In fact Julie Burchill’s Sugar Rush is not such a good book, and many people feared the television version could be poor as a result. It was the adaptation of the book by Katie Baxendale, Jane English and Liz Doran that made it into an award winning series. In contrast Jeanette Winterton’s book is an excellent piece of work and she wrote the television version. I feel that I have achieved my aim to simply expand on my previous comment and reveal the similarities between these two characters.

Well, this post was more about Charlotte Coleman than Olivia Hallinan but it serves as a useful comparison and emphasises my point about Sugar Rush not being the first drama programme to cover this subject. I think that both made great television and helped to break down a few barriers, changing the way people think about a few things.

Olivia Hallinan | DVDs | Books | Videos

Products Associated With Olivia Hallinan
I will be writing an episodic synopsis for Lark Rise to Candleford soon. Meanwhile I have been adding a few names to the cast list. If you have enjoyed watching Olivia Hallinan in this programme you may be interested in the books the series is based on, by Flora Thompson. They were written as an autobiographical trilogy and are available via Amazon and other good book stores and probably some rubbish ones as well. If you are interested in buying the book it is listed as Lark Rise to Candleford: A Trilogy: “Lark Rise”; “Over to Candleford”; “Candleford Green” by Flora Thompson and HJ Massingham (Paperback) and priced £6.99 (UK)

The old version of the book (25/05/2000) has an original cover whereas the new version has a BBC Lark Rise to Candleford front cover featuring Olivia Hallinan (07/02/2008) and is £6.28 (UK) ISBN-10: 0141037199 ISBN-13: 978-0141037196

I noticed that Amazon also have the Lark Rise to Candleford DVD (2008) by Dawn French, Julia Sawalha and Liz Smith.

Well that’s a fairly strange description however it does have Olivia Hallinan on the front cover. It looks like the real deal, although it seems that all the comments and reviews are from people who watched the programme on television. This is not very useful for anyone wanting to read a review of the DVD. I've got no idea why do people feel the need to do that? It is not very unhelpful.

I also spotted quite a lot of other products with Olivia Hallinan’s name on them.

Sugar Rush Series 1 DVD (2005)

Sugar Rush Series 1 & 2 DVD (2006)

Jacqueline Wilson’s
Girls in Love DVD (2003)

Jacqueline Wilson’s
Girls in Love VHS Tape (2003)

Get Set for the Adventure of a Lifetime: Snoopers (1999)
DVD (2003)

Listen to the Wind
Audio CD (1999)

Just William (1994)
VHS Tape (1995)

Now, there is some pretty strange stuff in there and I don’t recommend investing in it all. It just came up in my search so I posted it here. I will probably investigate these products further at a later date. Please note that many of these items are not currently available, if you are trying to find them for your collection then auction sites might be a better option.

I will keep an eye out for more Olivia Hallinan related products and merchandise.

Olivia Hallinan | Celebrity Pictures

Looking for Celebrity Pictures?
There a plenty of websites where you can find photos and pictures of Olivia Hallinan on the internet. Whether or not these pictures are hosted with the proper consent is another matter. There are many websites that claim to have naked pictures of celebrities but they seldom do have the pictures. In many cases it is just a method of redirecting search engine traffic to spam sites. I predict that by conducting this type of search you will find a host of websites about Pamela Anderson and plenty of links to poor quality video clips, photos, and pictures. The type of websites you will encounter will fill your screen with pop-up adverts, malware, adware, and all kinds of malicious stuff. It is really easy to get a virus if you are not running a good virus program and firewall. It is a shame these sites are just spam sites and not genuine because we would all like to see high quality images of our favourite celebrities.

There is also a chance you will find some pictures that have been photo-chopped. These are images created in Photoshop (or similar image editing software) to create a false celebrity image in a state of undress. It’s quite a simple process; find an undressed model's image and a picture of your celebrity. Edit the face and hair onto your exposed model’s picture and blend the skin tones until they match. Often these pictures are very convincing, but as a punter you are being defrauded by this type of manipulation. The celebrity has been degraded, the original model possibly will feel unhappy about being used to promote a sleazy creeps website. No matter how convincing the image looks, there is no escaping the fact that it is a fake and therefore a total waste of time and space.

If you do find some "good" pictures of your favourite celebrity in the seedy recesses of the internet they will probably not bring you eternal happiness. In many cases you may lose respect and admiration for your favourite celebrity by carrying out such a search. In my opinion a celebrity is more dignified when pictured with their clothes on and looking as natural as possible. Too much make up and extravagance can spoil what could have been an excellent photo shoot. Some of the most entertaining material is of women who are fully clothed leaving much more to the imagination.

In some episodes of Sugar Rush you do see Olivia Hallinan with very little on and she looked fabulous. It is such a long time since I watched the series it is difficult to recall whether there were any scenes of her totally undressed, but I think that I would have remembered something like that! Also many websites have archives of images taken from Sugar Rush. I'm not sure where they stand as far as copyright is concerned. In the final episode of the first series Kim and Sugar get together in a hotel room. They share a bubble bath and drink champagne together and much more. If I remember correctly they wore bath-robes during these scenes. The series is often referred to as controversial but I fail to see where the controversy lies. It did bring a few things out into the open but nothing that had never surfaced before. Do you remember the film Oranges are not the Only Fruit? That really did put the cat amongst the pigeons by taking on religion at the same time.

So, my advice would be, try to avoid trashy celebrity websites, fake celebrity pictures and sleazy websites were you are just part of the money making game. Once again I have digressed from the topic at hand (no pun intended).

Lark Rise to Candleford | Sugar Rush | News |

A bit more about Lark Rise, Candleford and Sugar Rush

Lark Rise to Candleford is adapted from Flora Thompson’s semi-autobiographical trilogy of books about the English countryside. Lark Rise and Candleford are Thompson’s fictional names for Juniper Hill and Fringford, both in Oxfordshire. Although it is known that Thompson blended features from several towns including Bicester, Banbury, Brackley and Buckingham.

The colourful scenery and set design is reminiscent of picture post cards from the period. Olivia Hallinan plays Laura Timmins an apprentice working in Canldleford post office. It is much different character to that of Kim Daniels in Sugar Rush. Olivia Hallinan played the part of teenage lesbian in channel 4’s drama series alongside Richard Lumsden. Lumsden played her hapless father, Nathan in the controversial series. If you missed Sugar Rush when it was shown on Channel 4 it is now available on DVD. You can also watch the video versions through the channel 4oD service.

Olivia Hallinan ability to play such two diverse characters so convincingly shows how talented she really is. After working with Richard Lumsden and Sara Stewart, who played her mother Stella in Sugar Rush, Hallinan finds herself working along side a very different cast of actors and actresses. Julia Sawalha plays the character of Dorcas Lane the Candleford post mistress who always has one little weakness to suit any occasion or situation. Comedienne Dawn French plays the character of Caroline Arless, a poverty stricken resident of Lark Rise. Many of the storylines revolve around the relationship between the poverty of Lark Rise and the wealthy town of Candleford. Mark Heap is excellent as the overtly religious post man.

Olivia Hallinan | Lark Rise | Candleford | Second Series

Lark Rise to Candleford gets Second Series
The BBC has announced that there will be a second series of costume drama 'Lark Rise to Candleford' starring Olivia Hallinan as post office worker, Laura Timmins. The first series consisted of 10 episodes set in the Oxfordshire countryside. It was widely reported that filming was made difficult when severe flooding affected the locations being used for the outdoor scenes. The second series will feature 12 episodes and be broadcast in 2009. The series is based on the memoirs of Flora Thompson and is set in the fictional hamlet of Lark Rise and nearby town of Candleford. The television version bears little resemblance to the original books. The adaptation is (devised) written and produced by Bill Gallagher. Flora Thompson wrote a trilogy of books about her life in the Oxfordshire countryside:-

1. Lark Rise - published 1939
2. Over to Candleford - published 1941
3. Candleford Green - published 1943

Flora Thompson also wrote a sequal titled "Heatherley" circa 1944. This was published after her death (posthumously). Flora Thompson died in 1947, Devon. It is often over looked that Flora Thompson was a naturalist (a lover of nature writer not a nudist!) and her first published book was called "Bog-myrtle and Peat". It was published in 1921 by Phillip Allen and Co, London.

I'm not sure if a second series is good or bad news for Olivia Hallinan fans. I feel that she is very proffesional in this role but soon to be 25 years old, should she be playing the part of a 16/17 year old girl? The narration is excellent and Hallinan's performances are brilliant in every episode broadcast so far. It is hoped that the BBC realise that Dawn French is letting the side down in this series and remove her from the cast list for the second series. I am not the only person who has come to this conclusion, there are a lot of critics who have written similar statements. In fact many of their depictions of Dawn French are far less tactful than my own observations!

In the cast list adult Laura is played by Sarah Lancashire, beginining from episode seven. This begs the question, will Olivia Hallinan's role and input degenerate during the course of the series. It is not known at this stage how the story will progress but it is likely that the story will move on slowly using a similar cast of characters for the second series. Then the writers may have to decide whether to follow the true path of the original stories by creating a spin-off called Candleford Green or continue the story as though trapped in a time warp. This is a television trick used on programmes like Heartbeat, which is set eternally in the 1960's. I am only speculating on how this might pan out at the end of series two. For now, enjoy the remaining episodes of the first series.

Lark Rise to Candleford | Cast List

Screen Character - Actor/Actress

Candleford (Wealthy Town)

Laura Timmins - Olivia Hallinan

Dorcas Lane - Julia Sawalha

Zillah - Liz Smith

Thomas Brown - Mark Heap

Mathew Welby - Stephen Marcus

Pearl Pratt - Matilda Ziegler

Ruby Pratt - Victoria Hamilton

Sir Timothy Midwinter - Ben Miles

Lady Adelaide Midwinter - Olivia Grant

Philip White - Oliver Jackson Cohen

Constable "Cabbage" Patterson - Jason Watkins

Adult Laura - Sarah Lancashire

Rushden - Ben Daniels

Mrs Macey - Claire Skinner

Dan Macey - Danny Webb

Freddy Macey - Beans Balawi

Old Amos - Peter Wright

Young Amos - Craig Parkinson

Patty - Camille Coduri

Miss Ellison - Sandy McDale

Reverend Ellison - Peter Vaughan

Brewery Salesman - Paul Reynolds

Jerry (the Fishmonger) - Julian Rivett

Young Footman - Joseph Kloska

James Delafield - Stephen Cambell Moore

Lark Rise (small rural hamlet)

Robert Timmins - Brendon Coyle

Emma Timmins - Claudia Blakley

Caroline Arless - Dawn French

Alf Arless - John Dalgleish

Queenie Turrill - Linda Bassett

Twister Turrill - Karl Johnson

Mr Paxton - Gerrard Horan

Susan Braby - Nicola Stephenson

Sam Braby - Nigel Harman

Toby - Toby Clifford

Lizzie Arless - Hope Yoemans

Fergus Timmins - Fergus Drysdale

Edmund Timmins - Thomas Rhys Jones

Ethel Timmins - Martha Murdock

Tilda Arless - Sophie Miles

Wally Arless- Harry Miles

Behind the scenes

Executive producers - Bill Gallagher and Sue Hogg

Director - Charles Palmer

Producer - Grainne Marmion

Comments and Observations
NB: Dorcas (not Dorcus) This is a great name, hopefully Lark Rise to Candleford will bring this name back into popular use with a flood of little Dorcas' starting school in appoximately 5 years time. You will not be able to move for them soon!

Also, Caroline Arless played by Dawn French was sent to prison in one of the early episodes which has vastly improved the series. I am hoping she does not get released back into the community any time soon.

Cabbage Patterson, now that is another great name, but it was not revealed how he came to have such an usual moniker during the programme. In one scene, in Paxton's public house, a cabbage rolled down the stairs and landed at Constable Patterson's feet. This was greeted with laughter by the locals of Lark Rise.

Olivia Halinan | Introduction | Part Two

...Continued from Olivia Hallinan Introduction (Part One)
Olivia Hallinan plays the character of Laura Timmins in the BBC1 drama series Lark Rise to Candleford. This is a 10 part adaptation of Flora Thompson’s memoirs. It chronicles the lives of 19th Century folk living in small community, Lark Rise is a hamlet and Candleford is a neighbouring town. Sarah Lancashire provides the voice of Adult Laura as the story is told retrospectively. Olivia Hallinan is excellent in this role as the "cheeky" post office worker. Again she is surrounded by a strong cast including, Julia Sawalha (Dorcas Lane), Ben Miles (Sir Timothy Midwinter), Olivia Grant (Lady Adelaide Midwinter), Mark Heap (Thomas Brown), and Oliver Jackson Cohen (Phillip White). The programme has a large cast and most are suited very well to their rolls. Hallinan is slightly too old for her part as a 16 year old girl and the performances of Dawn French (Caroline Arless) are particularly poor. Dawn French is not an actress and this causes distraction from the highly polished performances from the rest of the cast. The accent used by most of the cast does not sound quite right for the Oxfordshire area. It appears to be a subtle combination of Norfolk and Dorset dialect.

Going on past evidence and recent performances Olivia Hallinan stands out from the crowd. Even when acting along side a strong cast of renowned actors and actresses. She always looks as though there is more going on inside her brain than meets the eye. It is this extra dimension that transfixes her audience into an almost hypnotic state. Olivia Hallinan certainly has the calibre to become one the greatest female actresses of all time.

Olivia Hallinan | Introduction | Part One

Hollywood Beckons for British Actress
Olivia Hallinan is a British actress who was born on January 20, 1984. Hallinan was raised in the Hounslow district of west London. She began her professional acting career at the age of seven. It was at this young age that Olivia Hallinan made her first professional appearance, in Robin Hood Prince of Sherwood at the Piccadilly Theatre in London (1991). Olivia Hallinan has since appeared in over one hundred productions including films, theatre and television work.

Olivia Hallinan played the character of Julia Jeckyll, in the children’s Television series Julia Jeckyll and Harriet Hyde. The programme was broadcast on BB1 and ran from 1995 to 1998. It was a comedy drama loosely adapted from the novella (or short story) by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson's, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde first published in 1885. Olivia Hallinan went on to play the character of Ellie Allard in ITV’s teenage drama series Girls in Love. The Series was based on the book by British author Jacqueline Wilson. The story revolved around the lives of three school girls and is told through the eyes of Olivia Hallinan’s character Ellie. In the programme Ellie’s friends are Magda played by Zaraah Abrahams and Nadine played by Amy Kwolek. The series covered all the important aspects of life such as kissing boys, hanging out with friends and having fun. It ran for two seasons beginning in 2003 and ending in 2005. Olivia Hallinan had built up quite a big fan base by the time Girls in Love ended.

Olivia Hallinan then played the role of Kim Daniels in Sugar Rush. A lot of her new found fans were unable to follow her in her new programme, because it was broadcast late at night after the watershed. Many of those who did follow Olivia Hallinan to Channel 4’s brave new drama may have been surprised to discover their idol was no longer into kissing boys. Hallinan played the character of a 15 year old school girl coming to terms with adolescence and being attracted to her best friend, Maria Sweet, played by Lenora Crichlow. The series evolved quickly with Kim leaving home in the final episode of the second series. Sugar Rush was based on the book of the same title by Julie Burchill. The series was not just about Kim’s sexuality, with plenty of focus on her dysfunctional home life as well. Olivia Hallinan played the character of Kim with such elegance and charm that her sexuality became secondary. Olivia Hallinan narrated the story beautifully with good humour. The awkward moments in the series were surprisingly always family situations. On the whole it was an excellent television drama with a very strong cast list. It came as a big disappointment to Sugar Rush fans when Channel 4 axed the show. In their infinite wisdom they decided that the British public should be better suited watching infantile reality TV programme Big Brother instead.

Olivia Hallinan Introduction (Part Two)

Olivia Hallinan | Biography |

Welcome to my "Olivia Hallinan" Website.

Olivia Hallinan - Biography
Olivia Hallinan is very talented British Actress and starred as Ellie Allard in Girls in Love, Kim Daniels in Sugar Rush (along side Lenora Crichlow) and Laura Timmins in the BBC drama Lark Rise to Candleford.

Birthday: 20 January 1984

Height 5' 6"

Olivia Hallinan has appeared in several popular television programmes including The Bill, Holby City, Torchwood, Casualty and Trial and Retribution. Hallinan began training as a professional actress at the age of eleven, attending her mother's Saturday Drama School 'All Expressions' in Teddington. Olivia Hallinan is the second youngest of four sisters.

I will use this blog to write articles and publish information about Olivia Hallinan and anything that may be relevant or related to this subject. If it is just pictures you are looking for, and I don't blame you by the way, Olivia Hallinan is a beautiful young woman, try Google image search. It is a waste of time looking of nude pictures or photo's as to my knowledge they do not exist for this celebrity. There are plenty of video clips you can watch for free on video website YouTube of Olivia Hallinan, mostly as Kim in Sugar Rush. Sugar Rush series 1 and 2 is currently available on DVD.

Kim Daniels in Sugar Rush
Sugar Rush is a Channel 4's drama series about a teenage lesbian called Kim Daniels. In the series her dysfunctional family moved to Brighton, on the south coast of England. Olivia Hallinan’s character Kim, bumps into and inadvertently assists a shoplifter, Maria Sweet a.k.a Sugar (Lenora Crichlow). The girls are like chalk and cheese, but circumstantially become best friends. The series focussed not only on Kim coming to terms with her sexual orientation but also the trials and tribulations of adolescence. The series had a cutting edge and was accompanied by a clever use of music in the soundtrack. Songs by Nouvelle Vague such as Teenage Kicks gave the series a seductive quality. It quickly became a cult series with a huge following of fans who still feel bewildered and disappointed by Channel 4’s decision to scrap the series.

Laura Timmins in Lark Rise to Candleford
Olivia Hallinan fans did not have to wait too long to see her back in action, she plays 16 year old naïve post office worker Laura Timmins in this BBC drama series. Olivia Hallinan does not narrate the voice over, as she did with Sugar Rush and Girls in Love. Sarah Lancashire narrates the series as adult Laura. Lark Rise to Candleford is a light-hearted period costume drama set in the 19^th Century. It is an adaptation of the semi autobiographical books by author Flora Thompson who grew up in the Oxfordshire countryside. It is worlds apart from Sugar Rush, overall a much more placid and docile piece of television. Julia Sawalha is convincing in her role as the proprietor of Candleford post office and forge. Laura is played excellently by Olivia Hallinan who has a real skill for capturing youthful exuberance in her performances.

The good news is that the BBC has commissioned another series of Lark Rise to Candleford. This does not automatically mean that Olivia Hallinan will be in the new series but considering that she plays the central character it would be a reasonable assumption that Olivia Hallinan will remain as Laura Timmins. As soon as I know anything more I will post it here. Well, that is quite a large welcome to my Olivia Hallinan website. I hope you stay and have a look around. Thank you for visiting my website.

Combing over the BBC press release regarding the second series it does appear that they have secured the full cast for the next series. The main characters all seem to be listed for the second series. It will be filmed in the summer of 2008. The sets used in the series were built using disused farm. They actually built both the hamlet and town from scratch making for a very impressive set design. The first series was disrupted by the severe weather during the summer of 2007. Oxfordshire was one of the areas severely affected by the flooding which devastated large areas of the country.

Next – Introduction to Olivia Hallinan (Part One)