The Duchess of Duke Street
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| The Duchess of Duke Street | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Drama |
| Created by | John Hawkesworth |
| Starring | Gemma Jones Christopher Cazenove Victoria Plucknett John Cater John Welsh Richard Vernon |
| Country of origin |  United Kingdom |
| No. of episodes | 31 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 50 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original run | September 4, 1976 – December 24, 1977 |
| External links | |
| IMDb profile | |
The Duchess Of Duke Street is a BBC television drama series set in London between 1900 and 1925. It was created by John Hawkesworth, the former producer of the highly successful ITV period drama Upstairs, Downstairs and starred Gemma Jones as Louisa Trotter, the eponymous "Duchess" who works her way up from servant to renowned cook to proprietress of the upper-class Bentinck Hotel in Duke Street, Marylebone in London.
The story is loosely based on the real-life career of Rosa Lewis (née Ovenden), the "Duchess of Jermyn Street", who ran the Cavendish Hotel in London. When the show first aired, there were many people who still remembered her, as she lived until 1952. She was born in Leyton, Essex, to a watchmaker, and some of the family history can be traced through the census returns. However much remains obscure.
The programme lasted for two series totaling 31 episodes, shown between 1976 and 1977. It was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited Series in 1980.
[edit] Plot summary
Beautiful, but no-nonsense Louisa Leyton (Gemma Jones) has one driving ambition, to become a great cook. She gets herself hired in that capacity in the household of Lord Henry Norton (Bryan Coleman). His handsome, wealthy, aristocratic nephew, Charlie Tyrrell (Christopher Cazenove), attempts to seduce the attractive redhead, but she rebuffs him. With bold determination, she talks Monsieur Alex (George Pravda), his lordship's disdainfully sexist French chef, into reluctantly accepting her as an apprentice.
In that role, Louisa catches the eye of His Royal Highness Prince Albert Edward, the Prince of Wales (Roger Hammond). Under great pressure from all sides and against her own wishes, she marries butler Augustus 'Gus' Trotter (Donald Burton) to protect the royal reputation. She and her new husband are installed in a home, and her affair with the Prince commences. When Edward's mother, Queen Victoria, dies and he assumes the throne as King Edward VII, their relationship comes to an end.
Louisa's cooking career takes off, but her marriage to Gus is strained, both by her affair and by her success. To try to restore his pride, she talks him into purchasing and running the Bentinck Hotel, which comes with its own elderly butler, Merriman (John Welsh). She interviews (or rather, is interviewed by) the brisk, soldierly Starr (John Cater), who deigns to be employed as the porter, always accompanied by his dog "Fred". Louisa also hires her loyal Welsh assistant and friend, Mary (Victoria Plucknett), away from their former mutual employer. (Late in the series, Starr and Mary wed.) Rounding out the principal cast is Major Toby Smith-Barton (Richard Vernon), an upper-class, retired Army officer, who runs up a hotel bill he has difficulty paying, owing to a gambling habit. Making the best of it, Louisa uses the Major in a variety of tasks: adviser, greeter, bellhop, etc.
However, the authority goes to Gus's head. When she discovers that he has squandered their hard-earned money, entertaining his freeloading friends, and has driven away all the hotel guests with his arrogance, she throws him out. With Mary's assistance, she struggles to pay off the enormous debts her worthless husband had amassed, working extraordinarily long hours. Finally, she collapses in the street one morning due to overwork. Fortuitously, Charlie Tyrrell is nearby (leaving a late night assignation), and carts her home. When he learns of her financial woes, he pays her debts and becomes a silent partner in the hotel, with a suite permanently set aside for him.
They have a passionate romance, resulting in an illegitimate daughter, Lottie (Lalla Ward), who is discreetly fobbed off on a couple working on Charlie's estate. Louisa is so much in love that she begins neglecting the hotel and her cooking. The Major steps in and has a discreet word with Charlie. Knowing how much the establishment means to Louisa, Charlie leaves for an extended stay in America. Grief-stricken at first, Louisa eventually regains her senses and turns her attention back to her business, making it a great success.
Charlie inherits the family title and becomes Lord Haslemere. He marries another woman (with Louisa's approval) and tells Louisa that if his marriage has any hope of working, it will have to be away from her, that he must 'grow up' and not depend on her. Later, he becomes a widower and the two get back together. They plan to marry after the end of World War I, but tragically, he dies from war wounds, breaking Louisa's heart. She eventually recovers and has to deal with their grownup daughter, when Lottie discovers the identities of her real parents.
Louisa's parents occasionally make an appearance: her ineffectual, but loved father (John Rapley) and her critical, abrasively selfish mother (June Brown). Late in the series, her father dies, leaving a large sum to his granddaughter Lottie to help her with her singing career.
[edit] Characters
- Louisa Trotter (née Leyton) (Gemma Jones)
- Charles "Charlie" Tyrrell, later Lord Haslemere (Christopher Cazenove)
- Mary (Victoria Plucknett)
- Starr (John Cater)
- Merriman (John Welsh)
- Major Smith-Barton (Richard Vernon)
- Augustus Trotter (Donald Burton)
- Mrs. Violet Leyton (June Brown)
- Mr. Ernest Leyton (John Rapley)
- Lottie (Philippa Shackleton, Lalla Ward). Gemma Jones is only eight years and six months older than Ward.
- Lord Henry Norton (Bryan Coleman), Louisa's employer for part of the first series, beginning in the first episode
- Monsieur Alex (George Pravda)
- the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII (Roger Hammond)
