Starvation (TV story)

***Starvation*** was the seventh episode of *Series 1* of *Survivors*.

## Synopsis

Abby decides to give up the search for her son, Peter and set up a community.

## Plot

A young woman, Wendy, complains to her elderly companion Emma about the lack of food. She wants to go into town to look but Emma is worried about disease. Wendy says she's already searched all the nearby houses. Emma tries to suggest having nettle soup again. Wendy says she'll go through the wood and come back if she finds something. Emma makes Wendy promise to come back, saying she needs her. Wendy says she needs Emma too. Emma doesn't seem to believe her.

Jenny cuts Greg's hair. Abby tells John and Lizzie they all need short hair to keep the bugs away. Greg thanks Jenny with a kiss. Abby explains to the children that the grown-ups have decided not to look for Peter anymore, hence why they ditched the land rover. Instead, they're going to find a house to settle down, raise animals and get other people to join them. Lizzie suggests Peter might join them too but Abby isn't convinced. John and Lizzie irritate Jenny by complaining about only eating rabbits and cabbage.

Tom Price is fishing by a stream. Wendy comes along and Price offers to sell her the fish he's caught, making hints about "what he wants". He shows her his van and she tells him about Emma. Wendy is uncomfortable in his presence and tries to leave. Price suggests they cook and eat the food together, but is unnerved by the sound of a dog pack and convinces her to drive off in the van with him.

Greg and the others have their path blocked by a pack of dogs sat in the road. Greg wants to drive through them. Abby opens the door and the dogs go for her. Greg warns her the dogs might have rabies. He prepares to drive at the dogs but they run off first. Ben jumps out of the bus and chases after the other dogs. The group drive on, wondering if the dogs are after sheep, and find them attacking Emma. Abby jumps out with a shotgun, telling the others to drive on. Jenny gets the dogs to chase them by waving rabbit carcasses. Abby gets Emma into the house. Emma is worried the dogs will go after Wendy.

Greg and Jenny worry about how to get back to Abby, while Lizzie worries about Ben. They work out the direction they have to go on a map. They come across a large grange, but dogs surround the bus. Price and Wendy have made camp. Wendy notes Emma often talks about her sons and grandchildren. Price claims to be a rich man with his own place and suggests Wendy stay with him. He goes to gather wood and Wendy runs off with the fish. He considers firing his shotgun after her, then realises she'll go back to Emma and sets off in the van. Greg, Jenny, John and Lizzie play a waiting game with the dogs, who include Ben.

Emma tells Abby she hasn't seen anyone in three months apart from Wendy and wishes she'd died with her family. She says she's living in her son's old weekend cottage. They were meant to be joining her to escape the fever but a neighbour rang her to say they were dead. Wendy told her everyone was dead. Abby decides to go and hunt something with her gun. Emma reflects how she'd have been frightened of the dogs before but now the worst has happened.

Abby finds her gun missing and sees Price's van. Price has both her gun and his and holds her at shotgun point. Abby tells him about Emma. He nearly gives away the fact Wendy was with him. Abby suddenly remembers him and Price recalls the incident, saying he hasn't seen Wormley since then and is a trader now. He offers to get them food but refuses to say what's in the van. Wendy emerges from the woods, seemingly lost. Abby tries to convince Price to hunt a pigeon and also tells him he needs them because he's no good on his own. Price asks what she'll give him for the pigeon and Abby says company.

John and Lizzie complain about being hungry. Lizzie calls Jenny "Mummy" and Jenny tells her not to. Greg considers getting out but Jenny talks him out of it. Price explores the woods and fires off his gun. Jenny hears the noise and thinks it's Abby until Greg points out she only had two cartridges. Price returns to Abby and Emma with the pigeon. Emma offers to make it into soup and Abby explains she's offered Tom favours for the food. He is somewhat surprised that she's willing to pay up. He sends Emma inside with the pigeon and offers Abby beans and pickles from the van for more favours. He insists she stay back while he gets them, but once he's in the van, Wendy, who had been hiding, shuts the door and locks him in. Abby warns him that if he tries to shoot his way out, he'll likely injure himself with the shot. They walk away as he continues shouting threats.

Night has fallen. Greg realises the dogs are gone. He, Jenny, John and Lizzie open up the grange. Greg goes to explore while Jenny fills up the petrol. Lizzie asks what "Daddy" is doing. Jenny says she doesn't know, and is startled when Lizzie reminds her Greg isn't "Daddy". Next morning, Abby is worrying about her friends. Price is still locked up. Abby threatens to set a fire under him if he doesn't be quiet, and he desperately tells her not to, which gets Abby thinking.

Jenny wakes up and goes looking for Greg, who has found the empty kitchen. He doesn't want to start a fire because it might attract whoever they heard shooting. They decide to see what they can find to eat and explore the grounds. Lizzie and John wake up and are scared they've been left alone again. Lizzie bursts into tears and John tells her he'll look after her. Greg returns, with the titles of "Mummy and Daddy" now seemingly accepted. They consider staying there as Jenny appears with some leeks, which they all pretend is something else. Greg considers fishing, working out a fast-running stream from the mountains won't be poisoned like the trout.

John and Lizzie explore upstairs and decide to play hide and seek. Lizzie goes upstairs where a man calls out to her. Lizzie screams and Jenny comes running. The man, Barney, is mentally backwards but docile. He explains to them and Greg that he hid there from the dogs, which bit his leg. Greg asks how long ago and Barney holds up all his fingers. They realise they need to boil some water.

Abby, Emma and Wendy are driving Price's van and see the fire at the grange. Abby sounds the horn and gets a fresh spate of banging from Price. Greg meets them and tells them to drive in. John and Lizzie see them from the window. Greg learns of Price's presence and tells him to throw his gun out when they open up the door. Price obliges and they find the back of the van is full of shotguns and cartridges, which he tries to deny taking from Wormley.

That night, the group eat food provided by Tom and cooked by Emma. Greg talks about snares and hunting, with Tom agreeing with everything he says. Greg sits down with the guitar but isn't sure what to play. Abby notes there's nine of them now and contemplates staying there. John and Lizzie wonder if Ben will come back and Greg thinks Barney's survival is evidence the dogs aren't rabid. Jenny doesn't want to stay there but Greg and Tom both favour staying on. They hear sheep outside.

Next morning, Greg, Tom and Barney herd the sheep together and Greg tells the other two to set snares in the next field, also telling Tom to rub dirt on himself so the rabbits don't smell him. Price acts like an expert with Barney, claiming he used to catch moles back home. Barney offers some horse hair he made into a snare. He is bemused that Barney doesn't want to hurt the rabbits he catches.

Abby and Greg debate the place's merits. They could use the barns to house cows, sheep and horses, and Greg says Price is right about it being defensible. Price and Barney find some carrots and potatoes. Emma sings happily as she works in the kitchen. Wendy calls out to Abby and Greg from the roof, and Ben comes bounding back to rejoin the children. Greg tells Abby he thinks they're home.

## Cast

* Abby Grant - Carolyn Seymour
* Jenny Richards - Lucy Fleming
* Greg Preston - Ian McCulloch
* John Millon - Stephen Dudley
* Lizzie Willoughby - Tanya Ronder
* Tom Price - Talfryn Thomas
* Emma Cohen - Hana-Maria Pravda
* Wendy - Julie Neubert
* Barney - John Hallett

## Crew

* Written by Jack Ronder
* Produced by Terence Dudley
* Directed by Pennant Roberts