TELEVISION / Production Notes

Barry Hanson, executive producer of Lady Chatterley (BBC1 Sunday), on the handling of the sex scenes in the adaptation of D H Lawrence's novel: 'We thought, 'If you're going to do Lady Chatterley's Lover, you have to have Ken Russell (director).' We were in no doubt about that. The intention was to make it for a BBC1, primetime Sunday-night audience, that was the brief for Ken and from that premise we were in his hands. He, Joely Richardson (Lady Chatterley) and Sean Bean (Mellors) then had to work things out between the three of them; obviously it's a very sensitive thing.

'I think we get out of it the complexities of relations within sex. It has a touch that Ken Russell is known for: there is a celebratory attitude to sexuality within the book, and the film is done with an equally celebratory approach. I think the sex scenes are erotic, but what comes over is that they're about people. It's not about sexual athletics, we're not in the realms of Red Hot Dutch, because the book's not like that; we really focus on the relationship. I would also say, though, that there is a lot of restraint, which you don't expect with Ken.

'There are a lot of programmes on TV that are rightfully or wrongfully accused of being sexually gratuitous, but that is one accusation that can't be pointed at this.'

(Photograph omitted)