Gentlemen and Players is a British television series produced by TVS Television for the ITV network. An aspirational late 1980s drama series, Gentlemen and Players dealt with the struggles and intrigues involving two business rivals, Bo Beaufort and Mike Savage, set against a backdrop of high finance, opulent country homes and cricket. Premise Miles "Bo" Beaufort (Brian Protheroe) is a rich "blue blood" financier who comes from a wealthy upper-class family. Mike Savage (Nicholas Clay) is a self-made businessman from a more modest family background, who likes adventure. The two are old enemies, and when Savage returns from a stay in Africa (fleeing from a coup with a fortune in bonds), he chooses to settle with his wife Sandy (Claire Oberman) and daughters in the affluent Hampshire village of Hunton Magna, in a Georgian mansion that is next door to Beaufort's home. Unhappy about his new neighbour, especially when he joins his local cricket club, Beaufort schemes and uses the old boy network to hamper Savage's plans whenever possible. Rivalry between the two escalates as "old money" clashes with "new money". Cast Starring Bo Beaufort - Brian Protheroe Mike Savage - Nicholas Clay Sandy Savage - Claire Oberman Jane Somerville - Edita Brychta Eleanor Beaufort - Faith Brook Recurring cast Paula Savage - Debra Beaumont Kimberley Savage - Claudia Gambold Liz Beaufort - Sara Griffiths Kate Beaufort - Sadie Frost (Series 1 only) Alex Castle - Osmund Bullock Tom Fletcher - Leslie Schofield Freddie Hall - Robert Ashby (Series 1 only) Charles Neville - Terence Harvey Sir Geoffrey Hinchcliffe - Nicholas Selby PC Perkins - Lewis George Jenny - Steffanie Pitt Production and broadcast Two series were made between 1988 and 1989, comprising 13 episodes in total, mostly filmed on location in London and Hampshire. The first series, comprising seven episodes, was screened on ITV on Sunday nights at 7.45pm from 10 April - 22 May 1988. The second series, comprising six episodes, moved to Friday nights at 9pm, and ran from 28 April - 9 June 1989. The press release for the series by TVS Television described Gentlemen and Players as "A story of money, class and rivalry set in the world of finance and gracious country homes.", with The Guardian newspaper describing it as "a kind of Dallas in Hampshire". Reception Writing in The Guardian in 1989 (at the end of the second series), critic Nancy Banks-Smith mocked