Channel 4's new adaptation of Barbara Taylor Bradford's 1979 novel 'A Woman of Substance' is a lavishly absurd, cliche-packed tribute to simpler times. The eight-part miniseries, written by Katherine Jakeways and Roanne Bardsley, premiered recently and offers the escapism that viewers currently crave, taking us back to the supreme madness of 1980s television.
The story opens in the late 1970s with Emma Harte, played by Brenda Blethyn, as a multimillionaire grande dame. Blethyn has shed her drab Vera persona for a gorgeous silver-grey bouffant wig and lavish wardrobe. Emma is the richest woman in the world, but a mole has leaked her medical records, suggesting she is unwell, causing Harte shares to plummet. Emma marches into her steel and marble headquarters and tells her minions to control the narrative with press releases.
The young expositor is Jim Fairley (Toby Regbo), a member of the Fairley family, with whom Emma has a longstanding feud. Emma declares that what she has dedicated her life to is revenge. To understand the feud, the story flashes back to 1911, where Emma (Jessica Reynolds) is a serving wench at a manor house owned by the Fairleys. Her dying mother urges her to 'get out and get on' in a cliched deathbed scene.
At the manor, Mr Adam Fairley (Emmet J Scanlan) is married to Adele (Leanne Best), a dipsomaniac he keeps locked away. He is considering an affair with Adele's sister Olivia (Lydia Leonard). Master Gerald (Harry Cadby) is having his way with lady's maid Polly (Georgina Sadler). When their dalliance is discovered, Emma takes over as Adele's maid and makes herself invaluable through her dressmaking skills. There is also Mac O'Neill (Niall Wright), a good man overlooked by young Emma because of Master Edwin (Ewan Horrocks).
The miniseries is clearly Channel 4's bid to rival Disney+'s 'Rivals', the adaptation of Dame Jilly Cooper's blockbuster. With its lavish absurdity and cliches, 'A Woman of Substance' is a perfect escape to a time of excess and ambition.
