The Georgian House
A children's fantasy series set across two centuries.
Heather Cowper from Bristol, UK · CC BY 2.0
The Georgian House is a British children's fantasy television series made by HTV and broadcast on ITV in 1976. It ran for seven episodes. The story follows two teenagers, Dan and Abbie, who take jobs as tour guides at a Georgian house in Bristol and are sent back in time to 1772. The narrative alternates between the present day and the 18th century. The series was written by Jill Laurimore and Harry Moore, and produced by Leonard White. Only three episodes remain in the archives.
The plot begins with Dan and Abbie, both students, arriving at a recently renovated Georgian house in Bristol that is open for guided tours. They work there alongside the caretaker. They discover an African wood carving that transports them 200 years into the past, to a time when the house belonged to the Leadbetter family. In the 18th century, Abbie is accepted as a visiting cousin, while Dan becomes a bullied houseboy. They meet a young enslaved Black boy named Ngo, owned by the Leadbetters. Abbie wants to free him, but Dan is focused on returning to their own time. They learn that Ngo is the key to their return, and together they manage to set him free and get back to the present.
The series was created under tight constraints: HTV commissioned a West Country-set show of seven episodes, using no more than four sets, with a mix of studio videotape and some location filming. The scripts were written quickly. Laurimore, who had visited the real Georgian House in Bristol as a child, devised the dual-time setting to reuse the same sets. HTV insisted on linking the show to the actual Bristol house, which then offered tours. The studio sets faithfully recreated the real drawing room and hallways. Laurimore later wished some of the set budget had been used for more location scenes. The teenage leads were Spencer Banks (previously known for *Timeslip*) as Dan and Adrienne Byrne as Abbie. Jack Watson played the Caretaker. Brinsley Forde, a founding member of the reggae group Aswad (formed in the 1970s), played Ngo. The 18th-century cast included Peter Scofield, Constance Chapman, Janine Duvitski, Valerie Lush, Monica Lavers, Anne Blake, Stephen Holton, Dudley Jones, and Anna Quayle.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Children's fantasy
- Executive Producer
- Patrick Dromgoole
- Writer
- Jill Laurimore / Harry Moore
- Starring
- Spencer Banks / Adrienne Byrne / Brinsley Forde / Jack Watson / Constance Chapman
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Language
- English
- Num Series
- 1
- Num Episodes
- 7
- Producer
- Leonard White
- Director
- Derek Clark / Leonard White / Sebastian Robinson / Rayan Salvi
- Camera
- Multi-camera
- Runtime
- c. 25 minutes per episode
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The story concerns two teenagers, Dan and Abbie, who go to work as tour guides at a Georgian house in Bristol but are transported back to 1772. The action takes place as a mix of the modern day intertwined with the 18th century. While there, they discover an African wood carving which takes hold of the teenagers and transports them back 200 years to a time when the house was owned by the Leadbetter family. They are accepted as part of the household as Abbie is seen as a visiting cousin and Dan is a bullied houseboy. While there, they meet a young enslaved Black boy, Ngo, who is owned by the Leadbetters. Abbie is desperate to set him free, but Dan is keen to get back to their own time. They discover that Ngo is the only one who can help them get back and they work together. Abbie and Dan succeed in setting Ngo free and they make it back to their own time.
Reader's Guide
The Georgian House is notable as a rare example of 1970s British children's fantasy television that used a dual-timeframe narrative to explore historical themes, including slavery. The series was produced under tight constraints: the original commission from HTV required it to be set in the West Country, consist of seven episodes, use no more than four sets, and be shot solely on videotape with no location work. Writer Jill Laurimore, who had visited the real Georgian House in Bristol as a child, devised the time-travel premise to reuse the same sets for both the 1970s and 1770s. The series featured a cast including Spencer Banks (known from Timeslip), Adrienne Byrne, Jack Watson, and Brinsley Forde (later of the reggae-pop group Aswad). Today, only three episodes survive: episodes 1 and 7 in the HTV archive, plus a home-recorded videotape of episode 3. Archive TV specialists Network DVD released these three episodes on a single DVD on 24 May 2010, with PDF files of the scripts representing the lost episodes 2, 4, 5, and 6.
Did You Know?
- Only three episodes of the series exist in the archives: episodes 1, 7, and a home-recorded videotape of episode 3.
- The series was shot solely on videotape with no location work, using only four sets.
- Child actor Brinsley Forde, who played the slave boy Ngo, later became a member of the 1980s reggae-pop group Aswad.
- The real drawing room and hallways of the Georgian House in Bristol were recreated in the studio with meticulous detail.
Creative Origins & Development
The 2024 Apple TV+ series Time Bandits traces its lineage back to Terry Gilliam's 1981 fantasy film of the same name, which served as the source material for the television adaptation. In July 2018, Apple Inc. secured the rights to develop a series from the film, with Gilliam attached as executive producer. The creative helm was later shared among Jemaine Clement, Iain Morris, and Taika Waititi, who joined in March 2019 to co-write and direct the pilot. Waititi confirmed the project would consist of ten episodes. Casting began in earnest by September 2022, when Lisa Kudrow was announced in the role of Penelope. Despite the pedigree of its creators and the legacy of the original film, the series' run proved brief. On September 16, 2024, just weeks after its final episodes aired, Apple TV+ pulled the plug, canceling Time Bandits after a single season.
Production & Visual Craft
Time Bandits was filmed across New Zealand and Toronto during late 2022 and early 2023, with principal photography kicking off in Wellington in October 2022, where the city stood in for a 1920s New York setting. A defining commitment of the production was its heavy reliance on practical effects, a deliberate choice to honor the handmade aesthetic of Gilliam's 1981 original. Miniature models were constructed for scenes featuring Chinese ships, a Mayan pyramid, sections of the Fortress of Darkness, and Kevin's bedroom. Oil-painted matte paintings supplemented certain background shots. For creatures like the woolly mammoth, rhinoceros, and saber-tooth tiger, the team blended animatronics, puppets, and full creature suits. Beyond these tactile methods, the series incorporated nearly five thousand computer-generated visual effects shots, some captured against blue or green screens and others filmed inside the Volume using LED wall technology to project dynamic backgrounds.
Cast & Ensemble
The series centers on a ragtag crew of thieves who, through a comedic journey spanning time and space, take under their wing an eleven-year-old history nerd as their newest recruit. Lisa Kudrow anchors the main cast as Penelope, joined by Kal-El Tuck as Kevin, Tadhg Murphy as Alto, Roger Jean Nsengiyumva as Widgit, Rune Temte as Bittelig, Lo Mutuc as Judy, Rachel House as Fianna, and Kiera Thompson as Saffron. The recurring roster adds further color: Jonathan Brugh plays Damon, while the show's creators themselves step on camera—Clement as Pure Evil and Waititi as the Supreme Being. Supporting roles include James Dryden and Felicity Ward as the Haddocks, Shane Rangi as a Demon, Francesca Mills as Detective Katherine, and Imaan Hadchiti as Sergeant Lewis. The guest lineup stretches across history and mythology, featuring Mark Gatiss as the Earl of Sandwich, Kountry Wayne as Bumpy Johnson, Ross Noble as a Stonehenge builder, and Hammed Animashaun as Mansa Musa, among others.
Reception & Brief Run
Time Bandits debuted on Apple TV+ on July 24, 2024, with new episodes dropping two at a time until the season concluded on August 21. Critics responded with generally positive marks. Rotten Tomatoes tallied a 76 percent approval rating from 51 reviews, averaging 7.1 out of 10, with the consensus praising the show for trading the original film's wild eccentricity for a more accessible, family-friendly tone while still delivering an energetic adventure that builds momentum. Metacritic's weighted score of 66 out of 100, drawn from 28 critics, echoed that generally favorable assessment. Yet the positive reception did not translate into a second season. On September 16, 2024, Apple TV+ announced the series would not return. The show's final chapter was also marked by a 2024 controversy in which cast member Lo Mutuc publicly alleged an on-set assault by a fellow actor; a subsequent investigation involving multiple witnesses and interviews was unable to substantiate the claims.
Gallery
Frequently Asked Questions
What is The Georgian House?
The Georgian House is a 1976 British children's fantasy series produced by HTV for ITV, running for seven episodes. It follows two teenage tour guides at a Bristol house who are flung back to the year 1772, with the story cutting back and forth between the two eras.
Who are the main characters and what do they do?
Dan and Abbie are two students who take on guide duties at a newly renovated Georgian house in Bristol. Their job quickly turns into a time-travel adventure when they find themselves transported to 1772, forcing them to navigate life in the 18th century while still dealing with their modern-day responsibilities.
How many episodes of The Georgian House survive?
The series originally aired seven episodes in 1976, but only three of those remain in the archives. The missing episodes are lost to time, making the surviving material a partial record of the full story.
Who created The Georgian House?
The show was written by Jill Laurimore and Harry Moore, with Leonard White serving as producer. It was made by HTV as part of their 1976 schedule for the ITV network.
What makes The Georgian House stand out among British time-travel shows?
Rather than following a single adult protagonist, it centres on two teenagers who juggle a modern-day job with the chaos of 18th-century life, giving it a distinctly youthful and adventurous tone. Its tight seven-episode run and the fact that most episodes are now lost also make it a rare and sought-after piece of British television history.
More in British television series about time travel 1-24
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