From Mr Bean to Blackadder and Johnny English, carefully laid plans have a way of going awry for Rowan Atkinson’s characters.
And, in a quiet Cotswolds valley on Saturday night, the actor’s efforts to mark his girlfriend’s 40th birthday with a spectacular fireworks display appear to have backfired in a similar fashion.
Terrified pets fled into the night and some of the more startled two-legged residents thought the local military base might be under attack. It “sounded like a heavy bomber group dropping their payload”, one complained.
The party for Louise Ford, an actress, was held at Lucknam Park hotel and spa, a Palladian mansion near Chippenham that hosts a stable of 30 horses so guests may be offered “equine therapy”. The management had warned
