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Sharpe's Gold (TV programme)
Encyclopedia
Sharpe's Gold is a 1995 British
television drama, part of a series
screened on the ITV
network that follows the career of Richard Sharpe
, a British soldier during the Napoleonic Wars
. The drama has almost nothing in common with the novel of the same name
by Bernard Cornwell
. Scriptwriter Nigel Kneale
explained, "I didn't use much of [the book]. I used the first ten pages, I think. Then I had an idea which would be more fun to do. It was all about magic by the time I was through with it."
) and her daughter Ellie (Jayne Ashbourne), visit their close relative Lord Wellington (Hugh Fraser
) in Spain during the Peninsular War
. They are there to search for Bess's husband, Will (Peter Eyre
). Wellington however refuses to assist their foolhardy mission, demanding they go home to Ireland.
Meanwhile, Major Richard Sharpe (Sean Bean
) is assigned the task of handing over 50 rifles in exchange for some British deserters caught by a Spanish guerrilla leader named El Casco (Abel Folk). The two ladies catch up to Sharpe's detachment, forcing him to take them along for their protection. The trade goes as planned. However, when he starts back without helping the Nugents, they ride off, forcing Sharpe to go after them.
The ladies encounter El Casco's men; Bess is killed and Ellie taken captive. When she is taken to El Casco's cave lair, she finds her father, though he has become deranged, presumably after witnessing atrocities committed by the Spaniards (they believe they are descendants of the Aztecs and cut out the hearts of French prisoners). Sharpe tracks them down, fights the Spaniards and rescues Ellie and her father. El Casco wounds Sharpe, but is killed by Sergeant Harper (Daragh O'Malley
).
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
television drama, part of a series
Sharpe (TV series)
Sharpe is a British series of television dramas starring Sean Bean about Richard Sharpe, a fictional British soldier in the Napoleonic Wars. Sharpe is the hero of a number of novels by Bernard Cornwell; most, though not all, of the episodes are based on the books...
screened on the ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
network that follows the career of Richard Sharpe
Richard Sharpe (fictional character)
Sharpe is a series of historical fiction stories by Bernard Cornwell centred on the character of Richard Sharpe. The stories formed the basis for an ITV television series wherein the eponymous character was played by Sean Bean....
, a British soldier during the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
. The drama has almost nothing in common with the novel of the same name
Sharpe's Gold (novel)
Sharpe's Gold is a historical novel by Bernard Cornwell. Set in August 1810 during the Peninsular War and featuring the destruction of Almeida it is the 9th in the Richard Sharpe Series.-Plot introduction:...
by Bernard Cornwell
Bernard Cornwell
Bernard Cornwell OBE is an English author of historical novels. He is best known for his novels about Napoleonic Wars rifleman Richard Sharpe which were adapted into a series of Sharpe television films.-Biography:...
. Scriptwriter Nigel Kneale
Nigel Kneale
Nigel Kneale was a British screenwriter from the Isle of Man. Active in television, film, radio drama and prose fiction, he wrote professionally for over fifty years, was a winner of the Somerset Maugham Award and was twice nominated for the British Film Award for Best Screenplay...
explained, "I didn't use much of [the book]. I used the first ten pages, I think. Then I had an idea which would be more fun to do. It was all about magic by the time I was through with it."
Plot summary
Bess Nugent (Rosaleen LinehanRosaleen Linehan
Rosaleen Linehan is an Irish stage, screen and television actress.She has appeared in many comedy revues written by her husband Fergus...
) and her daughter Ellie (Jayne Ashbourne), visit their close relative Lord Wellington (Hugh Fraser
Hugh Fraser (actor)
Hugh Fraser is an English actor and theatre director.-Early life:Born in London but raised in the East Midlands, Fraser studied acting at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art...
) in Spain during the Peninsular War
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War was a war between France and the allied powers of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars. The war began when French and Spanish armies crossed Spain and invaded Portugal in 1807. Then, in 1808, France turned on its...
. They are there to search for Bess's husband, Will (Peter Eyre
Peter Eyre
Peter Eyre is an American actor.Eyre was born in New York City, New York, the son of Dorothy Pelline and Edward Joseph Eyre, a banker. He was sent to a public school in England at the age of twelve, and has been based in the country ever since. Although offered a place at the Royal Academy of...
). Wellington however refuses to assist their foolhardy mission, demanding they go home to Ireland.
Meanwhile, Major Richard Sharpe (Sean Bean
Sean Bean
Shaun Mark "Sean" Bean is an English film and stage actor. Bean is best known for playing Boromir in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and, previously, British Colonel Richard Sharpe in the ITV television series Sharpe...
) is assigned the task of handing over 50 rifles in exchange for some British deserters caught by a Spanish guerrilla leader named El Casco (Abel Folk). The two ladies catch up to Sharpe's detachment, forcing him to take them along for their protection. The trade goes as planned. However, when he starts back without helping the Nugents, they ride off, forcing Sharpe to go after them.
The ladies encounter El Casco's men; Bess is killed and Ellie taken captive. When she is taken to El Casco's cave lair, she finds her father, though he has become deranged, presumably after witnessing atrocities committed by the Spaniards (they believe they are descendants of the Aztecs and cut out the hearts of French prisoners). Sharpe tracks them down, fights the Spaniards and rescues Ellie and her father. El Casco wounds Sharpe, but is killed by Sergeant Harper (Daragh O'Malley
Daragh O'Malley
Daragh O'Malley is an Irish film, theatre and television actor, best known for his portrayal of the much loved and ever faithful but rather fearsome Patrick Harper in the legendary Sharpe TV series along side Sean Bean...
).
Cast
| Actor | Character |
|---|---|
| Sean Bean Sean Bean Shaun Mark "Sean" Bean is an English film and stage actor. Bean is best known for playing Boromir in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and, previously, British Colonel Richard Sharpe in the ITV television series Sharpe... |
Richard Sharpe Richard Sharpe (fictional character) Sharpe is a series of historical fiction stories by Bernard Cornwell centred on the character of Richard Sharpe. The stories formed the basis for an ITV television series wherein the eponymous character was played by Sean Bean.... |
| Daragh O'Malley Daragh O'Malley Daragh O'Malley is an Irish film, theatre and television actor, best known for his portrayal of the much loved and ever faithful but rather fearsome Patrick Harper in the legendary Sharpe TV series along side Sean Bean... |
Sergeant Patrick Harper |
| Hugh Fraser Hugh Fraser (actor) Hugh Fraser is an English actor and theatre director.-Early life:Born in London but raised in the East Midlands, Fraser studied acting at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art... |
Sir Arthur Wellesley Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century... |
| Hugh Ross | Major Mungo Munro |
| Michael Mears | Rifleman Francis Cooper |
| John Tams John Tams John Tams is an English actor, singer, songwriter, composer and musician.- Folk musician :John Tams was a member of Derbyshire folk group Muckram Wakes in the 1970s, then worked with Ashley Hutchings as singer and melodeon-player on albums including Son of Morris On, and as a member of the... |
Rifleman Daniel Hagman |
| Jason Salkey Jason Salkey Jason Salkey is an English actor. He played Rifleman Harris in Sharpe, and Paul Lang in The Bill. He has also been in Bergerac, Boon, Wycliffe, About a Boy, and In America.... |
Rifleman Harris |
| Lyndon Davies | Rifleman Perkins |
| Rosaleen Linehan Rosaleen Linehan Rosaleen Linehan is an Irish stage, screen and television actress.She has appeared in many comedy revues written by her husband Fergus... |
Bess Nugent |
| Jayne Ashbourne | Ellie Nugent |
| Peter Eyre Peter Eyre Peter Eyre is an American actor.Eyre was born in New York City, New York, the son of Dorothy Pelline and Edward Joseph Eyre, a banker. He was sent to a public school in England at the age of twelve, and has been based in the country ever since. Although offered a place at the Royal Academy of... |
Will Nugent |
| Abel Folk | El Casco |
| Philip McGough Philip McGough Phillip McGough is an English television actor best known for his 2010 role of Dr. Charlie Bradfield in the BBC Birmingham based soap opera, Doctors.-Career:... |
Provost Marshal |
| Ian Shaw Ian Shaw (actor) Ian Shaw is a British actor. He is the son of actress Mary Ure and actor Robert Shaw. His first role was in 1993 in an episode of Casualty. Since then he has appeared in the films Century , Moondance , The Boys From County Clare , The Contract with Morgan Freeman and John Cusack, and Johnny... |
Lieutenant Ayres |
| Julian Sims | Lieutenant Barbier |
| Diana Perez | Ramona |
| Philip Dowd | Rifleman Skillicorn |
| Peter-Hugo Daly Peter-Hugo Daly Peter-Hugo Daly is an actor and musician. In the late 1970s and early 1980s Daly was a member of new wave band the Cross along with fellow actor Phil Daniels. The band released a single, "Kill Another Night" on RCA Records in 1979... |
Sergeant Rodd |
| Nicholas McGaughey Nicholas McGaughey Nicholas McGaughey is a Welsh television actor best known for playing the character of Brandon Monk in the Welsh soap Pobol y Cwm. He has appeared on a number of top English television programmes such as Casualty in 1998... |
Tripper |
| Jake Abraham | Donkin |
| Jonathan McGuinness | Bewley |