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High Peak is a rural serial drama, produced by Equanox Media and published on the creative writing forum Writers Express. It is sometimes acronymised as 'HP', or by its project code 'HPK'. It is the first project under the license of Equanox Media, following that pre-existing company's rebrand.
It is set in the fictional north Derbyshire village of Miller, which itself is on the outskirts of the equally fictional market town of Malrith. Also mentioned are the unseen neighbouring villages of Bellfield, Greenchapel and Wolverdere - the latter usually in a derogatory manner. No precise location is identified, but Miller is based in northwest Derbyshire in the eponymously-named High Peak area, which is north of the Peak District and Derbyshire Dales and is said to be roughly equidistant between Manchester and Sheffield. Logically this puts it in the vicinity of Buxton. Exterior shots of Miller are filmed in and around Edale.
This is the third incarnation of the project, and it began a 'test run' of five episodes on Monday 4 September 2017. If successful, it looks set to return permanently later in the year.
The project was initially conceived in late 2011. Two incarnations of it then ran in 2012. High Peak 1.0, as it is retroactively known, was published between February and May and ran for 36 episodes (Episode 37 was written but never published). In April of that year, it won five Writers Express awards at WRIXAS 2, including 'Best New Project.' In spite of this, producers Gambox Productions (AKA forum members MGambitt and Noxy) cancelled it, explaining that they were unhappy with its continuity. Shortly after, it was announced that a new version would happen at some point. In September 2012, High Peak 2.0 - as it is retroactively known - began, this time with Noxy as the sole producer. However, despite a similarly enthusiastic response to it, the project was pulled again in November 2012 at Episode 30, with similar reasons given. Until August 2017, no more was heard about it.
'High Peak 3.0' (known simply as High Peak) was unofficially announced on Tuesday 15th August 2017, with confirmation coming in a news article the following day.
In HPK time, the project airs three times a week on Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays.
High Peak does not have its own Twitter account. Instead, all information pertaining to it comes under the umbrella account @equanoxmedia, which is the Equanox Media account.
As of 11th February 2018, there have been 9 episodes of the project to date.
For an in-depth guide to High Peak, check out the official wiki.
Title Card
Similar to the 2012 High Peak title cards, but with a few modifications. The valley-style background image has been replaced with a blurred out arial view of an anonomous rural area. The golden, old-fashioned font of the original has been replaced with the more ambiguos Trebuchet MS (which looks both modern and traditional), and the words are now two-tone; 'high' is canary yellow and 'peak' is white, and this colour scheme is meant to evoke the countryside. The words 'High Peak' are stylised in lower case.
Theme Tune
Unlike These Days - which changed the theme tune it used between its versions - High Peak 3.0 uses the same theme both other versions used; an instrumental version of 'Talk' by Coldplay. Noxy feels the 'gentle but vibrant riffs' in Talk 'suit the project down to the ground.'
Legacy of 2012 versions
Unusually, both versions were removed from Writers Express, a decision co-creator Noxy has since expressed regret about. It was her intention to launch a third version much sooner. Due to various incidences of technical loss and damage, much information about High Peak - including features and casting information - is irritrievably lost. However, all episodes from both versions remain in Noxy's possession.
Premise
High Peak is intended to be a compelling but down-to-earth, family oriented take on the ups and downs of life in the homely northern village of Miller, and to a much lesser extent, the neighbouring market town of Malrith. Many of the sets from previous versions of the project have been retained in their entirity or been renamed - such as the pub, the high school, the tearooms and the holiday village. However, in order to 'ramp up' the rustic feel of the show, Noxy has added several new sets including a livestock farm, a hiking business, a mountain rescue team and a horse sanctuary.
Sets
BUSINESS/EDUCATION
- Chalet Peaks - a holiday village owned by Frank and Helen Sheldon, but run by their son Dan and his wife Debbie. Frank and Helen do not live there, but Dan and Debbie do - as do their three children: grown-up Olly, the only one of the children who also works there, adult teenager Kayley and young teenager Jaimee
- Derbyshire Bank - a rarely seen or mentioned financial institution in Malrith
- The Feathers - an often mentioned but never seen rival pub
- Hardy's - a hybrid business which operates as a newsagent's and also has a small area for hot beverages. This is based on a similar shop in the mid-Derbyshire town of Matlock, and is owned and run by retired doctor Alan Hardy
- High Horses - a horse sanctuary which operates as a business within the unseen Mossthwaite Manor (sometimes mockingly referred to as 'Misselthwaite Manor,' the gloomy mansion in The Secret Garden). It is a multi-faceted operation, caring for both regular and race horses, as well as offering riding lessons to locals. It is run via Mossthwaite by the unseen Ormerod family who inhabit the manor. Strong & Stables is run by local independent MP Kate Bagshaw on behalf of the Ormerods. The exact number of Ormerods is unknown, but sometimes mentioned are husband and wife Hugh and Marion, and their son Tobias
- High Tea - a punnily-named tearooms owned, run and lived in by Frank and Helen
- Hike Peak - a punnily-named hiking company with a shop, owned and run by long-term unmarried couple Neil McIntyre and Gill Nicholls
- Malrith College - post-16 educational establishment, attended by students including late teens Kayley Sheldon, Molly Rowland and Seb Seymour
- Malrith High Street
- The Mary Mackworth Academy - an ailing high school in Malrith which has only just been renamed and converted from a comprehensive school into an academy. This is to the disapproval of long-term headteacher Ruth Hardy, but the approval of deputy head Mindi Singh. Indifferent is new head of English, Tess Rowland, who worked at the school years earlier when it was known as Barton Road Comprehensive. All three live in Miller. The academy itself is named after Mary Mackworth, a fictional Victorian philanthropist who lived in the area in the late 19th century. Mackworth is also a village near Derby
- Meadowgrove - livestock farm owned and run by the other side of the Fairfield family. Living there are Stuart's elder brother Patrick, his wife Niamh and their three children: grown-up Drew and Charlotte, who also work on the farm, teenager Isaac and a young, male border collie called Milo
- The Mulberry Arms (known as 'The Crown Tavern' in previous versions): a cosy country public house owned by Stuart Fairfield and his ex-wife, Leah McIntyre. However, Stuart divorced Leah some years previously and she disappeared to Malaga. Whilst she is still legally landlady, Stuart ostensibly runs it with his dad Pete, who acts as a pseudo co-landlord. Also living there are Stuart and Leah's three teenage children of varying ages - Aiden, Casey and Flick, who is deaf
- Singh Motors - garage owned and run by Deepak Singh
- St. Peter's C of E Church - the local Anglican church, which is part of vicar Josh Rowland's parish
RESIDENTIAL
- Acacia Cottage, Laburnum Grove - location of the Rowland home. Resident there are Josh Rowland, Tess Rowland, Molly Rowland, Luke Rowland, Flynn Rowland and Rocco (male labrador puppy)
- Blossom Wood Cottage, Lydgate Lane - location of the Sheldon home and Chalet Peaks holiday village. Resident there are Dan Sheldon, Debbie Sheldon, Olly Sheldon, Kayley Sheldon, Jaimee Sheldon, Tigger Sheldon (male ginger cat) and Bella Sheldon (female West Highland Terrier)
- Derwent View, Laburnum Grove - location of the McIntrye/Seymour family home. Resident there are Neil McIntyre, Gill Seymour, Seb Seymour and Seb's two male bearded dragons, Ant and Dec
- Dove Cottage, Laburnum Grove - location of the Aston/Hardy family home. Resident there are Gabz Aston and her young daughter Ania Aston. However, the cottage actually belongs to Gabz's boyfriend Keiran Aston, who is currently serving a prison sentence at the fictional HMP Sheffield
- Ivy Rose Cottage, Lydgate Lane - location of the Bagshaw/Draycott family home. Resident there are Kate Bagshaw and grown-up daughter Emma Draycott. Kate also uses it as her parliamentary address, though she holds her surgeries in Bellfield. It is the closest set to the holiday village
- Meadowgrove, Bellfield Road - location of Meadowgrove Farm (see above for residents)
- Millbrook Cottage, Laburnum Grove - location of the Hardy family home. Resident there are Ruth and Alan Hardy
- Sunnyside View, Laburnum Grove - location of the Singh family home. Resident there are Deepak Singh, Mindi Singh, Ashwin Singh, Bina Singh and their three rabbits Buster, Babs and Bugs
OTHER
- Malrith MRT is the fictional mountain rescure service which covers Malrith (where it's unseen headquarters are based), Bellfield, Greenchapel, Miller and Wolverdere. Several characters work on an ad-hoc, voluntary basis for Malrith MRT, including Neil McIntyre, Gill Seymour, Dan Sheldon, Mindi Singh, Ashwin Singh and Niamh Fairfield
Awards
At WRIXAS 2 (also known as The Spring WRIXAS 2012) on 2 April 2012, the first version of 'High Peak' was nominated for twleve awards and won five. These were as follows:
- BEST EPISODE: Episode 20
- BEST SCENE: Molly's Emotional Exit (Episode 20)
- BEST FRIENDSHIP: Jaimee Sheldon and Luke Rowland
- BEST NEW PROJECT
- BEST COLLABORATIVE PROJECT (Noxy & MGambitt)
Current Cast
|
Character |
Actor |
Duration (by episodes) |
|---|---|---|
| Aiden Fairfield | Mark Flanagan | 3- |
| Alan Hardy | Peter Davison | 2- |
| Ania Aston | Yoanna Dukanova | 4- |
| Ant Seymour (Beardie) | Uncredited | 4- |
| Bella Sheldon | Dog | 2- |
| Bina Sheldon | Bhavnisha Parmar | 4- |
| Casey Fairfield | Scarlett Ward | 3- |
| Claire Thorne | Emily Maguire | 1- |
| Charlotte Fairfield | Jayd Johnson | 6- |
| Dan Sheldon | Tom Lister | 1- |
| Debbie Sheldon | Alex Kingston | 1- |
| Dec Seymour (Beardie) | Uncredited | 4- |
| Deepak Singh | Ramon Tikaram | 1- |
| Drew Fairfield | Chris Born | 5- |
| Flick Fairfield | Bo Bragason | 3- |
| Flynn Rowland | Taye Junaid-Evans | 1- |
| Frank Sheldon | Duncan Preston | 1- |
| Gabz Aston | Roxanne Pallett | 4- |
| Gill Seymour | Gaynor Faye | 3- |
| Helen Sheldon | Sue Johnston | 1- |
| Jaimee Sheldon | Kacey Hebden | 1- |
| Jessica Rowland | Uncredited | 1- |
| Josh Rowland | Colin Salmon | 1- |
| Kate Bagshaw | Jane Gurnett | 8- |
| Kayley Sheldon | Ciara Lucking | 1- |
| Luke Rowland | Cuban Burdett | 1- |
| Mindi Singh | Shelley Conn | 1- |
| Molly Rowland | Georgie Henley | 1- |
| Neil McIntyre | Joe McFadden | 3- |
| Niamh Fairfield | Siobhan Finneran | 4- |
| Olly Sheldon | Scott Harrison | 1- |
| Patrick Fairfield | Bill Ward | 4- |
| Pete Fairfield | Frazer Hines | 2- |
| Ruth Hardy | Paula Wilcox | 2- |
| Seb Seymour | Luca Davis | 4- |
| Stuart Fairfield | Tim Vincent | 3- |
| Tess Rowland | Sally Dexter | 1- |
| TOTAL | 37 |