The House of Eliott | |
---|---|
![]() Series title card | |
Genre | Costume drama |
Created by | Jean Marsh Eileen Atkins |
Starring | Stella Gonet Louise Lombard Aden Gillett Maggie Ollerenshaw |
Theme music composer | Jim Parker |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Original language | English |
No. of series | 3 |
No. of episodes | 34 |
Production | |
Camera setup | Multiple |
Running time | 50 minutes (approx) |
Original release | |
Network | BBC 1 |
Release | 31 August 1991 – 6 March 1994 |
The House of Eliott is a British television series produced and broadcast by the BBC in three series between 31 August 1991 and 6 March 1994. The series starred Stella Gonet as Beatrice Eliott and Louise Lombard as Evangeline Eliott, two sisters in 1920s London who establish a dressmaking business and eventually their own haute couture fashion house, Aden Gillett as photographer and film maker Jack Maddox and Maggie Ollerenshaw as head of the workroom Florence Ranby. It was created by Jean Marsh and Eileen Atkins, who had previously devised Upstairs, Downstairs . The series was written by several writers, including Jill Hyem, Peter Buckman, Deborah Cook and Ginnie Hole.
Beatrice (30, known as Bea) and Evangeline (18, known as Evie) Eliott are left orphans by the sudden death of their tyrannical father, Henry Eliott. Left almost destitute and without any education, the sisters are forced to sell the family home to cover their father's debts. To earn money, they make use of their passion for dressmaking and Bea gets a job as secretary at a local photography studio run by Jack Maddox. Jack and his sister Penelope become firm friends of the sisters and Jack provides them with the funds to open their own London based dressmaking business "The House of Eliott". Through their relationship with Penelope Maddox, the sisters meet the loyal and hardworking seamstress Tilly Watkins whom they employ. A consistent theme throughout the series is the struggle of women in the 1920s to live fulfilling and independent lives—for some the struggle is simply to survive. Not only does Henry Eliott leave his daughters penniless and uneducated, but their cousin Arthur, who is executor of their father's estate, and Evie's legal guardian, keeps a rightful inheritance from the girls "for their own good". After Arthur's arrest and imprisonment for involvement in drug smuggling, he emigrates to Boston, USA, releasing a large amount of cash owed to the sisters from their father's estate. This allows Beatrice and Evie to expand the business and, by the end of series one, with the help of Evie's godfather, successful businessman Sir Desmond Gillispie, the future looks good. Evie celebrates her twenty-first birthday and is made a partner in the firm. The House of Eliott releases its first independent fashion collection and is creating exclusive designs for the aristocracy.
Spring 1924: the Eliott sisters have employed Florence Ranby, a dour Victorian, as head of the workroom. Beatrice and Evie are invited to Paris by fashion designer Gilles Caragnac, who offers them a 5-year contract as designers for his label. While there, Bea marries her former employer and friend Jack Maddox, and they move back to London, leaving Evie alone in Paris to work at the fashion house "Maison Gilles". After a year and an affair with Gilles Caragnac, a newly-glamorous and grown-up Evie returns as a designer for House of Eliott. Jack's movie director career is on the rise. At a showing of one of Jack's films, Evie meets Lord Alexander Montford, a married member of Parliament, with whom she begins an affair, causing complications throughout the series. Jack and Beatrice separate, unable to agree about having children and the pressure of work. The House of Eliott faces ruin after the suspicious death of Sir Desmond Gillispie causes the firm's financial affairs to be taken over by Ralph Saroyan. The sisters suspect Saroyan of dishonesty and through their contact with Sir Alexander Montford, cause the bank to be officially investigated. It is discovered that Saroyan is defrauding most of the customers of the bank and the Eliott sisters are left with very little of their original savings and investments.
Jack's movie The Strikers is successful and a Hollywood producer offers him work in the U.S. by a Hollywood producer. Jack turns it down to instead work in Berlin. Meanwhile, as the market for couture gowns wanes during the late 1920s Great Depression, Beatrice and Evangeline are offered a tour of America showing their new ready-to-wear designs for Sears and Roebuck. Bea still has feelings for Jack. Back at the fashion house, after a crisis of confidence, Tilly marries Norman Foss, a young chef in a local hotel, and is reinstated as head of the workroom. She announces her pregnancy in the last episode of the series.
Friction exists between Florence Ranby and Tilly. An annoyed Florence walks out of the Eliott workroom and narrowly misses being hit by a car. Tilly has many quarrels with Florence due to her short, sharp manner. Eventually, after Evie allows them to fix a fur collar in Madge's way rather than Florence's, Florence resign and walks out; this time she is fatally struck by a car. At the funeral Mr Ranby, Florence's husband, confronts Madge and Tilly after their apology to him. He then confronts Bea and Evie over Florence's death and how she was treated. He particularly blames Bea and Evie for failing to notice the ongoing conflict and says Florence was loyal and would not hear a word said against them. Later, however, he returns, apologising for his outburst and gives flowers to Madge and Tilly. He mentions he is a tailor. Needing an expert cutter, Bea and Evie consider offering him a job; but they decide against it, concerned that the House's connection to Florence's death would be too difficult for him. They instead hire Charles Quance.
The Eliott sisters and employee Madge are wrapping up their evidently successful visit to the United States under the sponsorship of Sears and Roebuck, which wants to carry a line of ready-to-wear designed by the House of Eliott. Still estranged from Jack, Bea has a new beau, debonair Sears executive Donald Bradley, who follows the ladies to England. Bea decides that she still loves Jack and settles down with him just as he is shifting from film direction to investigative journalism. Through Grace Keeble, a talented but unreliable new designer, Evie meets artists Miles Bannister and Daniel Page. Miles is hired to do illustrations for the House of Eliott and later becomes a much needed designer while Daniel is a talented artist who Evie believes only needs a break to be successful. Both men fall for Evie but Daniel wins out. Meanwhile, Madge discovers a new love and it is not her rather gruff husband Jerry. Tilly and her husband Norman struggle to keep their marriage together following the loss of their baby son, William (played by Emily Ryan). By the season end, the House of Eliott has nearly fallen apart, Bea and Jack have a daughter, Lucy (also played by Emily Ryan), Jack wins a seat in the House of Commons, and Evie has married Daniel. Miles' father becomes an investor in the House of Eliott after realising his son is a talented fashion designer. He wants the House of Eliott to make Miles a partner and to move away from haute couture and into more profitable ready-to-wear fashions. The final episode ends with a heated confrontation that raises serious questions regarding the House of Eliott's future and the sisters' relationship.
The writers did not anticipate the programme being cancelled at the end of the third series. For this reason, the series ends without a firm conclusion to the storyline.[ citation needed ]
The House of Eliott is usually cited as the last major BBC drama series to have the majority of its interior sequences recorded at BBC Television Centre using the multi-camera production method. [1] By the time the series came to an end in 1994, this video production method had been abandoned for drama series (other than soap operas) in favour of shooting using the single-camera setup, either on film, or on the increasingly lightweight video cameras that were becoming available. [2]
Some scenes were shot at Clifton Hill House and Goldney Hall university halls of residence in Bristol; while many were filmed in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. [3] The exterior of the house is situated at 24 Berkeley Square, Bristol. Holes made by the 'House of Eliott' sign still remain on the wall to the left of the front door. Colston Hall was also used.
Actor | Character | No. of episodes |
---|---|---|
Stella Gonet | Beatrice Eliott | 34 (1991–94) |
Louise Lombard | Evangeline Eliott | 34 (1991–94) |
Aden Gillett | Jack Maddox | 34 (1991–94) |
Cathy Murphy | Tilly Watkins/Foss | 34 (1991–94) |
Judy Flynn | Madge Howell/Althorpe | 26 (1991–94) |
Diana Rayworth | Betty | 26 (1991–94) |
Victoria Alcock | Agnes Clark | 26 (1991–94) |
Stephen Churchett | Joseph Wint | 22 (1991–94) |
Bill Thomas | Charles Quance | 15 (1992–94) |
Barbara Jefford | Lady Lydia Eliott | 12 (1991) |
Francesca Folan | Penelope Maddox | 12 (1991) |
Kate Fahy | Alice Burgoyne | 11 (1992) |
Toby Whithouse | Norman Foss | 11 (1992–94) |
David de Keyser | Sir Desmond Gillispie | 9 (1991–92) |
Robert Hands | Miles Bannister | 9 (1994) |
Richard Lintern | Daniel Page | 8 (1994) |
Rupert Frazer | Lord Alexander Montford | 7 (1992) |
Michael Culver | Ralph Saroyan | 7 (1992) |
Ian Redford | Larry Cotter | 7 (1994) |
Melanie Ramsay | Grace Keeble | 7 (1994) |
Caroline Trowbridge | Katya Beletsky | 7 (1994) |
Peter Birch | Arthur Eliott | 6 (1991) |
Jeremy Brudenell | Sebastian Pearce | 6 (1991) |
Maggie Ollerenshaw | Florence Ranby | 6 (1992) |
Elizabeth Garvie | Lady Elizabeth Montford | 6 (1992) |
Jamie Foreman | Gerry Althorpe | 6 (1994) |
Kelly Hunter | Daphne Haycock | 5 (1991) |
Kate Paul | Chalmers | 5 (1991) |
Robert Daws | Piggy Garstone | 4 (1991) |
Robert McIntosh | Tom Patterson | 4 (1994) |
Burt Kwouk | Peter Lo Ching | 3 (1991) |
Judy Campbell, Phyllis Calvert, James Cosmo, Eileen Davies, Minnie Driver, Amanda Mealing, Sheila Gish. Jessica Hynes and Phyllida Law, are among those who appeared in one or two episodes.
All three series of The House of Eliott are available on DVD for regions 1, 2 and 4 DVD and distributed by Acorn Media UK. They were released in 2004, 2006 and 2007 respectively.
A series of repeats began with the first episode on 5 September 2011 on ITV3. Previously (around 2005) there were repeats of the whole series on Sky and Cable channel UK Gold.
As of April 2018, the programme is being repeated on the Drama Channel. As of April 2024, the programme is again being repeated on Drama Channel.
The show was parodied by comedy duo Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders in a series of sketches called ‘The House of Idiot’. [4] Stella Gonet, Louise Lombard and Cathy Murphy actually appear, in character, during the final sketch and comically reprimand the pair for mocking the show.
Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Fuller Olsen, also known as the Olsen twins, are American fashion designers and former actresses. Mary-Kate and Ashley made their acting debut as infants playing Michelle Tanner on the television sitcom Full House (1987–1995). As they grew older, they began starring in other television shows, films, and media through their own production company, Dualstar. The twins became preteen icons, and some of the wealthiest women in the entertainment industry at a young age.
Philip Anthony Treacy is an Irish haute couture milliner, or hat designer, who has been mostly based in London for his career, and who was described by Vogue magazine as "perhaps the greatest living milliner". In 2000, Treacy became the first milliner in eighty years to be invited to exhibit at the Paris haute couture fashion shows. He has won British Accessory Designer of the Year at the British Fashion Awards five times, and has received public honours in both Britain and Ireland. His designs have been displayed at the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
BeatriceArthur was an American actress, comedienne and singer. She began her career on stage in 1947, attracting critical acclaim before achieving worldwide recognition for her work on television beginning in the 1970s as Maude Findlay in the popular sitcoms All in the Family (1971–1972) and Maude (1972–1978) and later in the 1980s and 1990s as Dorothy Zbornak on The Golden Girls (1985–1992).
Giorgio Armani is an Italian fashion designer. He first gained renown working for Cerruti and then for many others, including Allegri, Bagutta, and Hilton. He formed his company, Armani, in 1975, which eventually expanded into music, sport, and luxury hotels. By 2001, Armani was acclaimed as the most successful designer of Italian origin, and is credited with pioneering red-carpet fashion.
Sir Norman Bishop Hartnell was a leading British fashion designer, best known for his work for the ladies of the royal family. Hartnell gained the Royal Warrant as Dressmaker to Queen Elizabeth in 1940, and Royal Warrant as Dressmaker to Queen Elizabeth II in 1957. Princess Beatrice also wore a dress designed for Queen Elizabeth II by Hartnell for her wedding in 2020.
John Charles Galliano,, is a British fashion designer. He was the creative director of his eponymous label John Galliano and French fashion houses Givenchy and Dior. Since 2014, Galliano has been the creative director of Paris-based fashion house Maison Margiela. Galliano has been named British Designer of the Year four times. In a 2004 poll for the BBC, he was named the fifth most influential person in British culture.
Jean Patou was a French fashion designer, and founder of the Jean Patou brand.
Madeleine Vionnet was a French fashion designer best known for being the “pioneer of the bias cut dress”, Vionnet trained in London before returning to France to establish her first fashion house in Paris in 1912. Although it was forced to close in 1914 at the outbreak of the First World War, it re-opened after the war and Vionnet became one of the leading designers of 1920s-30s Paris. Vionnet was forced to close her house again in 1939 at the start of the Second World War and she retired in 1940.
Cristóbal Balenciaga Eizaguirre was a Spanish fashion designer, and the founder of the Balenciaga clothing brand. He had a reputation as a couturier of uncompromising standards and was referred to as "the master of us all" by Christian Dior and as "the only couturier in the truest sense of the word" by Coco Chanel, who continued, "The others are simply fashion designers". On the day of his death, in 1972, Women's Wear Daily ran the headline "The King is Dead".
Christian Dior SE, commonly known as Dior, is a French multinational luxury fashion house controlled and chaired by French businessman Bernard Arnault, who also heads LVMH. Dior holds 42.36% shares and 59.01% of voting rights within LVMH.
Callot Soeurs was one of the leading fashion design houses of the 1910s and 1920s.
Suzy Peta Menkes is a British journalist and fashion critic. Formerly the fashion editor for the International Herald Tribune, Menkes also served as editor, Vogue International, for 25 international editions of Vogue online until October 2020.
Sybil Connolly was a celebrated fashion designer and global icon known for her innovative use of traditional Irish textiles in haute couture. Often described as "Dublin's Dior", she achieved international repute and success, making her one of the first Irish designers to do so. She was a member of the "Big Three" Irish fashion designers, and was described by former Taoiseach Jack Lynch as: "a national treasure."
Rodarte is an American brand of clothing and accessories founded and headquartered in Los Angeles, California, USA, by sisters Kate and Laura Mulleavy.
Caroline Reboux was a Parisian milliner and French fashion designer. She opened her first boutique at 23 rue de la paix in Paris in 1865, which she continued to operate throughout her life. Reboux opened other shops in Paris and London starting in 1870. She trained other milliners who became famous in their own right, including American milliner Lilly Daché and French milliner Rose Valois. Reboux's most famous shop was located at 9 Avenue Matignon in Paris, which carried on operating after her death for almost three decades under the direction of Lucienne Rabaté known as "Mademoiselle Lucienne" the most famous parisian milliner at that time.
Margaret Ollerenshaw is an English actress. She is known for portraying the role of Mavis in the BBC sitcom Open All Hours (1981–1982) and its sequel Still Open All Hours (2013–2019). Her other television credits include First of the Summer Wine (1988–1989), The House of Eliott (1992) and Lovejoy (1993–1994).
Giles David Deacon is a British fashion designer, Creative Director and Founder of Giles Deacon group, a fashion enterprise. Deacon joined the Paris Fashion Week in 2016. Deacon has been known to challenge the traditional ideas of womenswear and often uses wild prints and pop culture references in his designs. Deacon was employed by the fashion houses Bottega Veneta and Gucci, before founding his own label, GILES, in 2003. He launched his first collection for GILES at the 2004 London Fashion Week and was named "Best New Designer" at the British Fashion Awards.
Elizabeth Hawes was an American clothing designer, outspoken critic of the fashion industry, and champion of ready to wear and people's right to have the clothes they desired, rather than the clothes dictated to be fashionable, an idea encapsulated in her book Fashion Is Spinach, published in 1938. She was among the first American apparel designers to establish their reputations outside of Paris haute couture. In addition to her work in the fashion industry as a sketcher, copyist, stylist, and journalist, and designer, she was an author, union organizer, champion of gender equality, and political activist.
The New Look is an American biographical drama television series created by Todd A. Kessler that premiered on Apple TV+ on February 14, 2024. A second season is in development.