the larkins© Photo: ITV

Bradley Walsh reveals he nearly got ‘crushed’ on The Larkins set

The actor experienced some mishaps on set

TV and film writer
October 10, 2021

The Larkins starts on ITV tonight and will see Bradley Walsh star in an adaptation of The Darling Buds of May as patriarch Pop Larkin. Set in the 1950s, the series follows the titular family on their farm in the Kent countryside, living an idyllic life full of love and laughter. 

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While the ITV comedy drama is meant to be a comforting and relaxing watch, filming the show wasn’t always so plain sailing according to Bradley. Speaking to Express.co.uk, Bradley revealed the slight troubles he faced on set: "It's a proper working farm, by the way.

WATCH: Meet the cast of ITV's new comedy drama The Larkins

"So we are down there and the farmers are there doing all their stuff as well and it's a brilliant atmosphere, I've got to say. For someone who gets hay fever, though, it's a bit tricky, I've got to be honest.

"I'm taking three or four loratadine a day. And I nearly got crushed by a pig, by the way, thanks to Andy [De Emmony].

"He made me get in the pigpen and with Bessy the pig. But it's fantastic, when you're sat there riding the horses, it's unbelievable."

MORE: See the cast of Young Sheldon and their real-life families

Although Bradley may have experienced mild mishaps on set, he hopes that viewers will learn a lot from the Larkins. He told whattowatch.com: "It’s great to see a family actually getting on, as we seem to see a lot of miserable families on TV these days! 

© Photo: ITV

Joanna Scanlan stars as Ma in the new reboot

"This is absolutely the right thing at the moment. We could learn an awful lot from the Larkins!"

Alongside Bradley stars Joanna Scanlan (The Thick of It) as the Larkin matriarch Ma and Sabrina Bartlett (Bridgerton) as their daughter Marietta.

The show will also see Tok Stephen (Grantchester) play the role of Marietta’s love interest and visiting accountant, Cedric 'Charley' Charlton, with Bradley’s real life son Barney Walsh appearing as village policeman PC Harness. The six-part series is a new take on the novel by H.E. Bates and is being revived by The Durrells and Men Behaving Badly writer, Simon Nye. 

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