Catherine Zeta-Jones King Sharir (Thierry Lhermitte). The film was not well received at the box office, and according to de Broca's obituary in "The Daily Telegraph", the film "is best remembered for its enjoyable nude scenes". Greater success followed when she starred opposite David Jason and Pam Ferris in the British period comedy-drama television series "The Darling Buds of May" from 1991 to 1993. Adapted from H. E. Bates novel of the same name, Zeta-Jones played the role of the eldest daughter of a family living in the countryside in 1950s Britain. The series was the highest-rated television show in the country
The Darling Buds of May (novel) Miss Pilchester, she responds, "Do her good. Make her sleep all the sweeter." In the first novella, Pop, Ma, and Mariette Larkin attempt to beguile Cedric Charlton, a timid and naive tax inspector, into abandoning his investigation of their finances. Their ultimate goal is for Mariette, who is secretly pregnant at the age of seventeen, to marry "Charley" and thus provide a father for her baby. Ultimately Mariette develops true feelings for Charley and they do become engaged. Charley is never told of the pregnancy, which turns out to be a false alarm. The novel was loosely adapted into the