Mulberry (Karl Howman, better known as Jacko from Brush Strokes) is the cheerful Cockney son of Death and Springtime. Working as an apprentice to his father, the Grim Reaper, he is sent to “collect” Miss Farnaby (Geraldine McEwan), a reclusive, cantankerous elderly spinster who terrorises her conniving staff, Bert (Tony Selby) and Alice (Lill Roughley, initially, then Mary Healey).
Instead, he joins the staff in her creaky manor house, becomes her handyman, and endeavours to help her enjoy life during the three-month extension grudgingly granted by his dad.
Mulberry enters her in a village trivia contest and a painting competition, takes her on a date and arranges for her to get closer to Bert and Alice.
A third series was planned but was cancelled before production began. As a result, the story never reached a conclusion.
The BBC series was written by the Brush Strokes team, John Esmonde and Bob Larbey.
Exterior shots for the Farnaby estate were filmed at High Hall, a 17th-century manor-house near Wimborne in Dorset.
Mulberry
Karl Howman Miss Rose Farnaby
Geraldine McEwan Albert “Bert” Finch
Tony Selby Alice Finch
Lill Roughley (1)
Mary Healey (2) The Stranger
John Bennett
Episodes
Arrival | Fireworks | The Quiz | The Holiday | The Dinner Party | Leaving || Springtime | The Accident | The Matchmaker | The Art Class | A Mysterious Guest | A Musical Evening | An Unexpected Visit
