Rivals For anyone not familiar with Jilly Cooper, she is an iconic writer of spicy (understatement), glitzy-glam romance novels full of rich privileged people behaving very, very badly. Escapist reading at its finest. Rivals is the televised version of her book of the same name. The plot goes something like this: Lord Tony Baddingham (David Tennant) owns a local TV station and despises Rupert Campbell-Black, a freshly divorced, former show-jumper turned Conservative Minister for sport (the feeling’s mutual). Into town moves Declan O’Hara (Aidan Turner) hired to work at the aforementioned TV station, but as a former BBC presenter, has had…

Read More Three Delightfully Daft British Shows To Distract From A Tragic Day

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Recipes For Love And Murder Maria is a food columnist for a small local newspaper in South Africa when her editor, Hattie, informs her that the paper is demanding an advice column. Maria pivots and becomes Tannie (Aunty) Maria dispensing advice each week, and cheekily managing to include a recipe designed to help cure the problem at hand. When Martine, the writer of Maria’s first letter, turns up dead, Maria does some sleuthing, aided by Jessie, the newspapers young and ambitious journalist who longs to sink her teeth into stories more serious than the fluff pieces she’s relegated to. The…

Read More Six Gentle British Shows For Difficult Times

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Four iconic British TV series — two from the seventies, two from the nineties. A little long in the tooth perhaps and lacking some of the bouncy lushness of a Bridgerton or Downton Abbey, but I like to think that these shows have a classic meets retro vibes feel that’s all their own. ~The House of Eliot   Sisters Evie and Beatrice, brought up by a stick-in-the-mud father who gave them little in the way of niceties and education (their mother died giving birth to Evie) despite being an affluent physician, find themselves in dire straits when he dies. Turns…

Read More British Period Dramas: Four Oldies But Goodies

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~Harlots   A show that fully embraces its inner sluttiness and flings it out into the world in full technicolour glory. The overarching storyline is a turf war between two rival brothel owners in late 1700’s London, who happen to share a very complicated past. Margaret Wells is unapologetic about her roots, views prostitution as a way (the only way) for women to gain financial independence and is not beneath auctioning off her daughter’s virginity to the highest bidder. Across town, Lydia Quigley, runs a much classier establishment with girls who dress elegantly, play the piano and speak French. Margaret and Lydia…

Read More The Naughty Side of Brit TV

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Christmas(ish) because, well, these films are a bit of a motley crew. A couple aren’t Christmas movies and a couple are but shouldn’t be.  ~The Man Who Invented Christmas Shortly before Christmas in 1843, Charles Dickens finds himself short of money after a rather unfortunate series of flops. He lands upon the idea of a Christmas ghost story, inspired by his teenage housemaid, but then struggles to write it. He wanders the foggy streets of London finding inspiration in the places and people he meets, using snippets from here and there to create his own characters. When he settles upon…

Read More British Christmas(ish) Movies For The Holiday Season

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It’s been a solid nine months since the last season of Bridgerton dropped and likely several more before season three is released. If you’re a big fan, it’s possible you are now suffering withdrawals from all of that sartorial splendor, for while it’s a show which revels in scandals and manners set against a lush backdrop of houses and balls, it is the exquisiteness of the clothing which truly commands centre stage. And particularly fun is the elegant, icy pale tailoring of the Bridgertons facing off against the candy colored finery of the Featheringtons, which leans ever so gently into…

Read More Nine Glossy British TV Shows With Fabulous Fashion (For Bridgerton Withdrawals)

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The Victorian era is a strangely fascinating one. The lower classes endured rampant poverty and appalling work conditions which led to epidemic levels of crime, disease and cheap gin consumption. The wealthy, meanwhile, were free to indulge their morbid curiosity in all things macabre, creating a resurgence in seances, mysticism and gothic literature — not to mention stuffed animals. All of this was curiously juxtaposed with an explosion of technological and scientific advances, increasingly liberal views and real social change. For a brief moment in time, both worlds co-existed in a swirling vortex worthy of a good Dr. Who episode. It may have…

Read More Three British Victorian (esque) TV Dramas Perfect for the Spooky Season

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  ~I, Daniel Blake Ken Loach at his finest, this movie is real and raw and guaranteed to make your blood boil at the excruciating Catch-22 the main character finds himself in. Daniel Blake is a 59 year old widowed carpenter recovering from a heart attack. Doctors say he is not able to go back to work, the government begs to differ and denies his benefits. Yes, it’s sad. Yes, it’s bleak. Yes, it’s depressing. But what makes it all bearable is that Daniel is real and authentic and deeply kind and passionate, as witnessed by the (platonic) relationship he…

Read More Seven British Movies About Social Issues

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I have professed my love of the highly stylized movie before and the recent rendition of Emma proves to be a delicious addition to the genre. It’s a frothy confection with interiors awash in pink and pastels, reminiscent of a Wes Anderson film, punctuated by the vibrant jewel tones of some of the outfits. I’m pretty sure this is what it would look like to take up residence inside a macaron box. And while the clothes may be exquisite, with a breathtaking attention to detail, it must be said that it is the sublime hats which rather steal the show.…

Read More A Collection Of Jane Austen Films

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Britain certainly has no shortage of dark and gritty crime dramas but sometimes what’s needed is crime which is silly and irreverent. Bright and bubbly. Death by cheese, perhaps. Here are a handful of shows which keep things on the lighter side without sacrificing (too much) in the substance department. ~Midsomer Murders There is a running joke about the body count in Midsomer Murders. At 2-3 bodies per episode over 20 years of broadcasting, the fictional county of Midsomer is clearly the most dangerous place to live in England. It is, however, quintessentially British, with gorgeous gardens, quaint village pubs,…

Read More The Lighter Side of British TV Mysteries

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