The Lakes (TV series)

The Lakes
Principal filming location: Inn on the Lake Hotel
Created by	Jimmy McGovern
Starring	John Simm Emma Cunniffe Mary Jo Randle Paul Copley Robert Pugh Elizabeth Bennett Nicholas Day Kaye Wragg Charles Dale Clare Holman Kevin Doyle Annabelle Apsion Matt Bardock Amanda Mealing Barbara Wilshere
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language(s)	English
No. of series	2
No. of episodes	14
Production
Running time	90 minute (series 1, episode 1) 50 minute (series 1, episodes 2–4) 40 minute (series 2)
Production company(s)	Company Pictures
Distributor	All3Media
Release
Original network	BBC One
Original release	14 September 1997 (1997-09-14) – 14 March 1999 (1999-03-14)

The Lakes is the title of a television drama series in the United Kingdom, made by the BBC and created and principally written by Jimmy McGovern.

The series was principally filmed in and around Patterdale and The Ullswater Hotel, Glenridding. The lake is Ullswater. Both series were released as a four-disc set in 2003. The first episode has additional commentaries by John Simm and David Blair. The Lakes is rated R16 in New Zealand for offensive language and scenes of a sexual nature.

The core of both series is the relationship between Danny Kavanagh (John Simm) and Lucy Archer (Kaye Wragg). In Series One, Danny is a compulsive gambler and philanderer, who escapes from the dole queues in Liverpool to live in the Lake District. After he meets and marries local girl Emma Quinlan, they move back to Liverpool. Emma finally returns home because of Danny's gambling. He follows her, gets a job looking after a rowing boat concession, and starts to patch up his relationship with Emma, who now has a daughter.

Danny rejects unsubtle advances from the attention-seeking Lucy Archer, who determines to gain revenge. When three schoolgirls are drowned in a boating accident while Danny is on the phone to the bookies, Lucy lies to implicate him. Danny is unwilling to tell the truth, as he has promised to stop gambling. The community looks for someone to blame, and Lucy is exposed as a liar in the subsequent inquest. Phone call records provide Danny with an alibi. In series two, Lucy is raped by three locals. Only Danny, enduring the claustrophobic hostility of the Quinlan family home, can testify as a witness, putting him at odds with the village, his wife and her family.

The series was critically acclaimed when first broadcast. It caused controversy because of its hard-hitting portrayal of an immoral British sub-culture, and scenes of sex and violence. The Lakes was the springboard for the British TV drama careers of many of the cast.

The series was principally filmed in and around Patterdale and The Ullswater Hotel, Glenridding. The lake is Ullswater.