The Darling Buds of May poster

TV series

The Darling Buds of May

19913 seasons7.9 / 10

An idyllic picture of 1950's rural England as seen through the lives of the Larkins, a farm family living in Kent. The show revolves around Pa Larkin, a man of a kind and mischievous nature with a penchant for getting into scrapes and talking his way out of them with equal equanimity; and his daughters, as they deal with growing up and discovering the joys and sorrows of young love.

Streaming, rental and purchase options

Where to watch in United States

Checked Jul 22, 2026

The Darling Buds of May is available to stream on Britbox and Britbox (Via Amazon Prime) in United States. Use the direct links below to open the provider.

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Synopsis

An idyllic picture of 1950's rural England as seen through the lives of the Larkins, a farm family living in Kent. The show revolves around Pa Larkin, a man of a kind and mischievous nature with a penchant for getting into scrapes and talking his way out of them with equal equanimity; and his daughters, as they deal with growing up and discovering the joys and sorrows of young love.

Season 2 episodes

Choose an episode, then use the watch options above for the show.

← Season 1

Episode 1

Oh! To Be in England (1)

1h

Mariette gives birth to a boy, John Blenheim, and, when the vicar, Reverend Candy, comes to see about the christening, he persuades the Larkins to have all their children baptised. Primrose takes an immediate shine to the young parson. Pop buys some jumble from elderly Mrs. Meredith and comes up against her nephew, Captain Broadbent, who accuses Pop of swindling his aunt when, in fact, Broadbent is the swindler, anxious to get his hands on his aunt's antique vase.

Episode credits

Directed by David GilesWritten by Richard HarrisGuest stars Kika Mirylees, Abigail Rokison, Phillada Sewell, Robert Lang, Tyler Butterworth, Jack Chissick, David Battley, Alan Ford

Where to watch The Darling Buds of May

Episode 2

Oh! To Be in England (2)

1h

Pop comes across a fun-fair owned by his friend Fruity Pears, though it is losing money. Fruity tells off two teddy boys for causing trouble and they attack and hospitalize him, also injuring Pop. Mademoiselle Dupont arrives to be a godmother at the christenings and is initially upset to find that Pop is not a lord, but he apologizes and she ends up having an enjoyable stay. Pop buys the fun-fair and installs it in his yard where everyone celebrates after the church service.

Episode credits

Directed by David GilesWritten by Richard HarrisGuest stars Rachel Bell, Moray Watson, Kika Mirylees, Anna Massey, Abigail Rokison, Tyler Butterworth, Victor Maddern, Nick Raggett

Where to watch The Darling Buds of May

Episode 3

Stranger at the Gates (1)

1h

Whilst Pop buys the adjacent quarry to stock as a trout farm and Charley considers buying a hop farm to supply the local brewery the main news in the village is the arrival of Pieter, a handsome Dane who endears himself to everyone - except perhaps Charley who is resentful of his wife's enthusiasm - with his willingness to work and his skill as a jack of all trades. Until, that is, Charley inadvertently exposes him as being a German, who pretends to be Danish to field hostility following the war.

Episode credits

Directed by David GilesWritten by Richard HarrisGuest stars Rachel Bell, Moray Watson, Abigail Rokison, Tyler Butterworth, Benedict Taylor, William Simons, Carol MacReady, Sheila Burrell

Where to watch The Darling Buds of May

Episode 4

Stranger at the Gates (2)

1h

Whilst the Larkins and John Candy shame some of the villagers into accepting Pieter for himself Charley and Mariette track him down and return him to the farm. They discover that he can stay in England if he marries an English girl and he does have a girlfriend, Eileen, but she feels tied to her selfish, supposedly invalid mother. However the Larkins persuade her to act for herself and she arrives at Home Farm to marry Pieter, now a village hero after rescuing one of the bigot's bullying son from falling in the quarry.

Episode credits

Directed by Steve GoldieWritten by Richard HarrisGuest stars Rachel Bell, Moray Watson, Tyler Butterworth, Benedict Taylor, William Simons, Carol MacReady, Sheila Burrell, P.J. Nicholas

Where to watch The Darling Buds of May

Episode 5

A Season of Heavenly Gifts (1)

1h

When ex-fighter pilot 'Honey' Honeyman crash lands in a field near Home Farm he asks Pop to deliver some boxes to his drinking club, the Ace of Clubs. He says they contain kitchen utensils but he has been smuggling drink over from France. The hop garden is Charley's if he can find the cash but ruthless property developer Marcus Cope tries to bribe him into letting him have it.

Episode credits

Directed by Robert TronsonWritten by Richard HarrisGuest stars Rachel Bell, Sheila Burrell, Michael Cochrane, Nicolas Chagrin, Derek Fowlds, Denis Lill, Jonathan Coy, Michael O'Hagan

Where to watch The Darling Buds of May

Episode 6

A Season of Heavenly Gifts (2)

1h

Pop and Ma go to an open day at their son Monty's Naval Training College, where Pop publicly humiliates a bullying instructor who has been making Monty's life a misery. Charley gets his gun to see off Cope's thugs when they try to destroy the hop-garden, for which he has now got his bank loan to purchase. They return when Cope learns that Pop has got the money from the burglary, which he bank-rolled.

Episode credits

Directed by Robert TronsonWritten by Richard HarrisGuest stars Rachel Bell, Moray Watson, Sheila Burrell, Nicolas Chagrin, Denis Lill, Jonathan Coy, Wolf Christian, Nick Hobbs

Where to watch The Darling Buds of May

Episode 7

Le Grand Weekend

1hfinale

Ma decides she and Pop should have a second honeymoon after she wins a competition prize of a weekend away in Paris.

Episode credits

Directed by Gareth Davies

Where to watch The Darling Buds of May

Episode information updated Jul 24, 2026

More about The Darling Buds of May

Cast

David JasonPop Larkin
Pam FerrisMa Larkin
Catherine Zeta-JonesMariette
Philip FranksCharley
Ian TuckerMontgomery
Christina GilesPetunia
Katherine GilesZinnia
Stephanie RalphVictoria

Credits

Written by
Richard Harris, Bob Larbey, Paul Wheeler, Barry Devlin, Robert Banks Stewart, H. E. Bates

Production details

Status
Ended
Series type
Scripted
Episodes
20
Original language
English

Networks & production

  • ITV1United Kingdom

Themes

1950sfamilyperiod dramarural areataxes