The sequel to Anne of Green Gables follows the spirited redhead’s continuing adventures as a schoolteacher in Prince Edward Island.
Having given up her university scholarship to care for an ailing Marilla Cuthbert (Barbara Hamilton), a maturing Anne Shirley (Kim Braden) takes up her first post as the teacher at Avonlea school. Her new life is complicated by Marilla’s decision to adopt the orphaned twins Davy Keith (Nicholas Lyndhurst) and Dora Keith (Annabelle Lanyon), whose contrasting temperaments test Anne’s patience both at home and in the classroom. Anne also contends with a new neighbour, the gruff Mr Harrison (David Garfield), and her evolving, competitive friendship with Gilbert Blythe (Christopher Blake), who is now teaching at a nearby school.
This six-part serial was a direct continuation of the BBC’s successful 1972 adaptation of Anne of Green Gables. It reunited the principal creative team, including writer Elaine Morgan and director Joan Craft, ensuring a consistent tone and a faithful approach to L. M. Montgomery’s novel.
The return of Kim Braden in the title role provided a seamless transition as the character progressed from pupil to professional woman, with the story built around her new responsibilities and developing maturity. As a fixture of the Sunday teatime schedule, the production was a prime example of the BBC’s commitment in the period to high-quality, multi-part dramatisations of literary classics for a family audience.
Broadcast: BBC One, 6 Episodes, Sundays, 26 January – 2 March 1975
Dramatised by: Elaine Morgan
Based on the novel by: L. M. Montgomery
Director: Joan Craft
Producer: John McRae
Script Editor: Alistair Bell
Main Cast: Kim Braden (Anne Shirley), Barbara Hamilton (Marilla Cuthbert), Madge Ryan (Rachel Lynde), David Garfield (Mr Harrison), Christopher Blake (Gilbert Blythe), Nicholas Lyndhurst (Davy Keith), Annabelle Lanyon (Dora Keith), Jan Francis (Diana Barry), Zuleika Robson (Jane Andrews), Keith Steven (Paul Irving), Ed Bishop, Kathleen Byron, Anthony Ainley, David Troughton
