Heather Ann

Heather Ann was a curious one off drama. Maybe it was intended as a pilot for a continuing drama series.

Set in a south coast fishing town. Heather Ann is the name of the fishing boat. It is owned by Heather Ann Lewis (Susan Penhaligon) and before that by her fisherman father.

Now her husband John Lewis (Maurice Roëves) runs the boat but it is a struggle. He has taken out a loan by forging her wife's signature. He can't afford to pay the instalments.

In fact John wants something else from this fishing town. He is having an affair with an American barmaid who is married to some wealthy property developer.

The catalyst is when they catch an unexploded bomb. Maybe a relic from the second world war. When it turns out to be live and could take half the town out.

John and his crew decide to sneak the bomb out and blow it up out at sea.

This is not a good drama. The characters are two dimensional, everything about this feels well worn.

There is a heart to heart between John and veteran fisherman Len (Jack Watson.) Where it transpires he could be Heather's real father. All that time in the boat on previous fishing trips. And they never had a chat like this!