The Lotus Eaters is a BBC television drama made between 1972 and 1973. The series, written by Michael J. Bird, dealt with the lives of various British expats living on the island of Crete and their reasons for being there. The central characters were a married couple, Erik (Ian Hendry) and Ann Shepherd (Wanda Ventham) who ran a tavern called "Shepherd's Bar". The Lotus Eaters was filmed in the Cretan resort of Aghios Nikolaos and derived its title from the Lotus Eaters of Greek mythology, where those who ate the fruit of the Lotus tree lost the desire to return home.