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
H. E. Bates Bates was a keen and knowledgeable gardener and wrote many books on flowers. The Granary remained their home for the whole of their married life. After Bates' death Madge moved to a bungalow, which had originally been a cow byre, next to the Granary. She died in 2004 at the age of 95. They raised two sons and two daughters. Their younger son Jonathan was nominated for an Academy Award for his sound work on the 1982 film "Gandhi". Bates died on 29 January 1974 in Canterbury, Kent, aged 68. A prolific and successful author, his greatest success was posthumous,