Sharpe's Gold is a 1995 British television drama, the sixth of a series screened on the ITV network that follows the career of Richard Sharpe, a British soldier during the Napoleonic Wars. The drama has almost nothing in common with the novel of the same name by Bernard Cornwell. Scriptwriter Nigel Kneale explained, "I didn't use much of [the book]. I used the first ten pages, I think. Then I had an idea which would be more fun to do. It was all about magic by the time I was through with it." Plot summary It is summer 1813. Lord Wellington (Hugh Fraser) is preparing to invade France from Spain after winning the campaign on the Iberian peninsula. Meanwhile, Major Richard Sharpe (Sean Bean) gets into serious trouble when he tries unsuccessfully to save one of his riflemen, Skillicorn (Philip Dowd), from being executed by the zealous Lieutenant Ayres (Ian Shaw) for stealing a chicken. To maintain discipline in his army, Wellington makes Sharpe apologise to Ayres. Bess Nugent (Rosaleen Linehan) and her daughter Ellie (Jayne Ashbourne), arrive unannounced from Ireland to visit their cousin, Wellington. They are there to search for Bess's husband, Will (Peter Eyre). Wellington refuses to assist their foolhardy mission, demanding they go home. Sharpe and Ellie find themselves attracted to each other, and they engage in a friendly shooting match at 100 yards. Several of the officers and men place bets on the contest; surprisingly Sharpe only narrowly prevails. Wellington assigns Sharpe the task of handing over 50 rifles in exchange for some British deserters caught by a feared Spanish guerrilla leader named El Casco (Abel Folk). The Provost Marshal insists that some of his men go along, so Sharpe is saddled with Ayres. Later, the two ladies catch up to Sharpe's detachment, forcing him to take them along for their protection. On the way, they repel an attack by French cavalry led by Lieutenant Barbier (Julian Sims). Ellie becomes distraught after having to shoot and kill a young Frenchman. When Sharpe tries to comfort her away from the others, they embrace. The trade goes as planned. However, Ellie then discovers that one of the deserters has her father's pipe. When Sharpe refuses to begin a search, the Nugents ride off, forcing Sharpe to go after them. The riflemen spot Barbier's detachment and drive them off with a surprise attack. The ladies encounter El Casco's