The Mayor of Casterbridge is a 1978 BBC seven-part serial based on the eponymous 1886 book by the British novelist Thomas Hardy.[2] The six-hour drama was written by television dramatist Dennis Potter and directed by David Giles with Alan Bates as the title character.[3][4] It was released as a 3-disc DVD box set in May 2003.
On a drunken impulse, Henchard sells his wife and daughter at a country fair, an outrageous act for which he suffers agonising remorse. Years later, when he has become a respected and prosperous man, his wife returns to find him. Henchard's attempt to right the long-ago wrong sets in motion a series of events that spell his destruction.
The series was shot entirely on location in Dorset, largely in the village of Corfe Castle.[3]