Zig Zag: Hungry Times

	Dilyn y Ddraig
	BBC Schools TV
	1988-1990
	History

	Basic Maths
	ITV Schools
	1981-1984
	Mathematics

	Yn Eu Cynefin
	ITV Schools
	1982-1986
	Geography

📺BBC Schools TV

companyBBC

started10th Oct 1983

ended17th Oct 1983

last rpt10th Feb 1988

5 school years

episodes2

duration20 mins

subject 🏛️History

age rangeAge 7-9

languageenIn English

2 images from Hungry Times

Zig Zag

Previous unit: The NormansNext unit: Computers

BBC TV drama for junior topics

Previous unit: The Sleepers on the HillNext unit: The Saga of Gunnar Goldhair

Hungry Times is a unit of the BBC Schools TV series Zig Zag from the 1980s, covering Miscellany for Primary pupils.

Accompanying Zig Zag's unit on The Normans, this two-part drama serial tells the story of a Saxon family in the year 1086, struggling after the Norman invasion in the face of new laws, curfews and plagues on their animals which leave them hungry and desperate but still proud Saxons.

Young Gerth tries to poach rabbits for his family's supper, while his father Alfred refuses to take part in the Domesday Book census. Hugh, son of the local Norman landowner, reaches out to support the family and befriend Gerth's sister.

Troubles intensify when Hugh is thrown from his horse and badly injured. The family must decide whether to help him even as the Norman soldiers continue to hunt poachers, capture Gerth, and put him on trial.

Episode List

#	Title	Broadcast
1.	drama The Trap	#1983-10-10-00-00-0010 Oct 1983
2.	drama The Trial	#1983-10-17-00-00-0017 Oct 1983

Broadcasts

Year	Term	Mon	Wed	Fri	Channel	Details
1983-84	Autumn 1983	Monday, 11:00am	Wednesday, 2:40pm		BBC2
1983-84	Summer 1984			Friday, 9:08am	BBC2	Subtitle Slot
1985-86	Autumn 1985	Monday, 11:00am	Wednesday, 2:40pm		BBC2
1987-88	Spring 1988	Monday, 11:00am	Wednesday, 1:38pm		BBC2

Credits

Starring	David Bartlett as Gerth Godfrey James as Alfred Daryl Back as Hilda Freda Dowie as Edith Michael Goldie as Sir Walter Mark Colleabo as Hugh
With	Paul Angelis as Sergeant Richard Williams as Clerk Stewart Fell as Juggler
Designer	George Kyriakides
Writer	Ian Taylor
Producer & director	Tom Stanier

Resources

Playscript

There were the usual teacher's notes available.

A playscript of the drama was also available, specially adapted for performance by schools.

Links

Hungry Times on the Internet Movie Database

BBC TV drama serials for junior topics

From Merry-Go-Round: Castors Away! (1967) • The Broken Sword (1968) • Tom's Midnight Garden (1968) • The Raven and the Cross (1971) • The Viaduct (1972) • The Crocodile (1973) • The Raven and the Cross (1974) • The Sleepers on the Hill (1975)

From Zig Zag: Hungry Times (1983) • The Saga of Gunnar Goldhair (1987)

From Landmarks: The Gunpowder Plot, Plague! and Fire! (1985) see The History Trail • Christopher Columbus (1992)

Zig Zag (1983-2000)

Series Overview • Units • Episode List

Ancient Greece (1996) • The Anglo-Saxons (1992) • The Arabs (1984) • Art (1997) • Canada (1987) • Cathedrals (1989) • The Channel Tunnel (1987) • Computers (1983) • Danger Detectors (1996) • The Eskimos (1985) • Food and Farming (1995) • France (2000) • Gardens and Growth (1985) • Geography UK (1995) • Getting About (1988) • The Greeks (1986) • Hungry Times (1983) • Invaders (1997) • Kenya (1994-96) • Let's Face It (1990) • Making It Work (1997) • Mapmakers! (1993) • Mordicus (1986) • The Normans (1983) • The Odyssey (1990) • The Olympics (1984-92) • Over to You (1985-89) • Roman Britain (1993) • Rush, The Fallow Deer (1987) • The Saga of Gunnar Goldhair (1987) • Snapshots: Children in the Second World War (2000) • Space (1984-88) • Spaceship Earth (1986) • Tales from Europe (1992) • Tales from Europe (2000) • Technology (1991) • Topical Programmes (1985-89) • Trees (1993) • Trees and Man (1991) • Tudor Life (1998) • The Vikings (1987) • Village, Town, City (1997) • A Walk Through Time (1999) • Water (1990) • Water, Air, Land (1998) • Weather (1999) • Where You Live, Where I Live (1994) • Wildlife Safari (1989-91) • Winter Festival (1986) • World of Work (1989) • You and the Media (1986)

See also: Zig Zag Shorts • Landmarks • Primary Geography • Primary History

Topics

School topics covered in this programme. Click to find other programmes covering the same topics, but bear in mind topics are a new addition to the site in 2023 and not many are set up yet.

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Dramatised

Character captured or kidnapped

Character suspected of a crime

Scripts or transcripts published

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