Helga arrives at the Village Hall to take part in the badminton tournament; she instantly has an impact on all involved.
This is the first episode of Village Hall that I've struggled with and found slightly irritating and lacking some of the quality of the previous tales. It's still a pretty good storyline; it boasts a cracking cast, including Jan Francis and Kenneth Cranham, but it all falls apart with the arrival of Helga.
Sadly, Germans on British TV in the Seventies and Eighties were always the usual stereotype: attractive, mechanical, machine-like, devoid of any humour, and more efficient than a Volkswagen Golf.
Linda Hayden's German accent and characterisation didn't work for me and kind of detracted from the story a little. Trevor Adams was great as George; he'd have been familiar to viewers of Fawlty Towers, appearing as Alan in The Wedding Party.
A quite enjoyable, meandering tale, but Helga's character lets it down badly. Not bad, but compared to the others, it falls short.
6/10.
