Shirley Valentine (film) seem recycled directly from greeting cards . . . If there is a shred of plausibility in the film, it comes from Bernard Hill's performance as Shirley Valentine's husband. He isn't a bad bloke, just a tired and indifferent one, and when he follows his wife to Greece at the end of the film there are a few moments so truthful that they show up the artifice of the rest." Shirley Valentine (film) Shirley Valentine is an award-winning 1989 British romantic comedy-drama film directed by Lewis Gilbert. The screenplay by Willy Russell is based on his 1986 one-character play of
Willy Roper is too late. Only a few days after his release in May 1996, Arthur suffers a brain haemorrhage on the allotments, and dies the next day in hospital. Arthur's funeral is held and Mark is incensed to see Willy in attendance. He confronts Willy and ends up assaulting him. In November 1996 Willy is sentenced to three years in prison. Introduced in June 1995, Willy plays a key part in the long-running storyline that eventually leads to the exit of one of "EastEnders"' original characters, Arthur Fowler. The actor Michael Tudor Barnes was cast in the role for a six-month