The raunchy 80s adaptation of Barbara Taylor Bradford's smash hit novel A Woman of Substance drew the highest ratings Channel 4 has ever seen. Now, the broadcaster is going there again with a lavish new eight-part series, featuring sex caves, love shacks and plenty of ye olde shagging.
Showrunner Katherine Jakeways reveals the team nicknamed a location on the West Yorkshire moors 'the sex cave', where the heroine Emma Harte loses her virginity. 'The lighting in there almost looks like AI, but it's real,' she says. 'Weirdly, it's about a mile from my mother-in-law's house. I haven't told her yet that it's a sex cave!'
Jessica Reynolds, who plays the young Emma, says the show is not afraid of sex. 'We had the most amazing intimacy coordinator and choreographed it to the point that me and Ewan [Horrocks] became so comfortable, we were able to conjure up real romance. It's sexy, but also feels true for teenagers falling in love.'
Brenda Blethyn, who plays the older Emma, was content to delegate the down-and-dirty stuff. 'It's quite saucy, isn't it?' she chuckles. 'I'm happy to leave that to my younger self. I suspect the audience would prefer that, too!'
The original 1985 miniseries, starring Jenny Seagrove and Liam Neeson, drew Channel 4's highest-ever ratings of 13.8 million viewers. The revival was announced shortly after Taylor Bradford's death at 91 in November 2024, but the writer had given it her blessing. 'She was thrilled it was going back to Channel 4 and keen to keep it being filmed in Yorkshire,' says Jakeways.
