In this lavish BBC period drama, a determined cook rises through the ranks of Edwardian society to run her own prestigious London hotel.
In Edwardian London, the ambitious cockney cook Louisa Trotter (Gemma Jones) is determined to become the finest chef in England. Her journey takes her from the kitchens of the aristocracy to the ownership of the prestigious Bentinck Hotel on Duke Street. As proprietor, she caters to the elite, including the Prince of Wales, while her turbulent personal life unfolds against the backdrop of a rapidly changing society. Her most significant relationship is a clandestine affair with the dashing Lord Charles Tyrrell (Christopher Cazenove), which brings her both joy and heartache.
Created by John Hawkesworth, a principal architect of Upstairs, Downstairs, this production brought a similar historical precision to the story of a working-class heroine. The serial is a thinly veiled biography of Rosa Lewis, the celebrated owner of the Cavendish Hotel, and its narrative charts the collision of class and ambition in Edwardian England. The production’s reputation rests on two pillars: its opulent attention to period detail and Gemma Jones’s formidable central performance. She plays Louisa not as a simple heroine but as a tough, often difficult trailblazer, whose professional genius is matched by a chaotic personal life. The series thus functions as both a grand historical pageant and an intimate character study.
Broadcast: BBC One, 31 Episodes, 1976-1977
Created by: John Hawkesworth
Producer: John Hawkesworth
Theme Music: Alexander Faris
Main Cast: Gemma Jones (Louisa Trotter), Christopher Cazenove (Charles Tyrrell), John Welsh (Merriman), Victoria Plucknett (Mary), John Cater (Starr), Richard Vernon (Major Toby Smith-Barton)
