The Duchess of Duke Street
Encyclopedia
The Duchess Of Duke Street is a BBC television drama
series set in London
between 1900 and 1935. It was created by John Hawkesworth
, the former producer of the highly successful ITV
period drama Upstairs, Downstairs
. It starred Gemma Jones
as Louisa Trotter, the eponymous "Duchess" who works her way up from servant to renowned cook to proprietrix 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. According to census returns, she was born in Leyton, Essex, to a watchmaker. In the series, Louisa's family name is Leyton, and her father is a clock-maker.
The programme lasted for two series totalling 31 episodes, shown between 1976 and 1977. It was nominated for an Emmy Award
for Outstanding Limited Series in 1980. The theme music was composed by Alexander Faris
.
) has one driving ambition: to become a great cook. She finds employment as a cook 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, stating clearly her intentions of becoming the best cook in London. Louisa manages to convince Lord Norton's sexist French chef, Monsieur Alex (George Pravda
), into accepting her as his apprentice.
When Louisa is unexpectedly called upon to prepare a dinner by herself, she catches the eye of one of the guests, Albert Edward, the Prince of Wales (Roger Hammond
), who admires both her cooking and her appearance. After the dinner, Louisa is pressured into becoming Edward's mistress. Against her own wishes, she agrees to marry Lord Norton's head butler, Augustus 'Gus' Trotter (Donald Burton), to maintain the appearance of respectability and to protect the royal reputation. Gus and Louisa are given a house, and her involvement with the prince commences. In time, Edward's mother, Queen Victoria, dies leaving Edward to assume the throne as King Edward VII
and causing him to end his relationship with Louisa.
Louisa's shaky marriage to Gus had become strained, both from her affair with the prince and her great success as a chef. In an effort to help Gus recover his pride, Louisa purchases the Bentinck Hotel and talks a reluctant Gus into managing it.
Before long, Gus, abetted by his sister, lets the authority go to his head. His arrogance alienates the staff and more importantly, the guests. Once Louisa discovers that he has lavishly entertained his friends and driven away the guests, she throws both him and his meddling sister out. Then she discovers, to her horror, the mountain of bills he has left unpaid.
With only Mary to assist her, she sets to work to pay the debts, taking any and all cooking jobs, however humble, but finally, overcome by fatigue, she collapses in the street very early one morning. Fortunately, Charlie Tyrrell is passing by (leaving a late night assignation), and takes her back to the Bentinck. Once he learns of Louisa's financial woes, he overcomes her resistance, pays her debts, and become a silent partner in the hotel.
Louisa keeps one of the Bentinck's employees, an elderly butler called Merriman (John Welsh
). She hires the brisk, soldierly Starr (John Cater
), who is always accompanied by his dog Fred, as the porter. To help round out her staff, Louisa brings with her from their former employer, her loyal Welsh assistant and friend Mary (Victoria Plucknett
). (Late in the series, Starr and Mary will wed.)
Rounding out the principal cast is Major Toby Smith-Barton (Richard Vernon
), an upper-class, retired Army officer. The Major enjoys wagering on the horse races, and ends up unable to pay his hotel bill. Reluctant to "toss him out on the street" and liking the man, Louisa offers the Major a position: general adviser, bellhop and greeter.
Charlie and Louisa have a very passionate romance. Infatuated with Charlie, Louisa begins to neglect both the hotel and her cooking. Recognizing what is happening, the Major steps in and has a discreet word with Charles. Knowing how much the establishment means to Louisa, Charlie leaves for an extended stay in America, giving Louisa a chance to refocus on her business. Grief-stricken at first, Louisa eventually regains her senses and makes the Bentinck a great success, only to discover that she is pregnant. Eventually, Louisa secretly gives birth to their illegitimate daughter, Lottie (Lalla Ward
). Fearing a scandal, Lottie is discreetly sent away and adopted by a young couple who work on Charlie's estate. Later, Charlie and Louisa agree to remain friends, but not lovers.
Sometime later, upon the death of his father, Charlie inherits the family fortune and the title of Lord Haslemere. With Louisa's approval, Charlie marries another woman. He tells Louisa that if his marriage has any hope of working, he will have to be away from her.
However, when Charlie's wife later passes away, he and Louisa resume their relationship. They decide to postpone their wedding until the end of the First World War
. Tragically, Charlie dies as a result of injuries received in the war. Louisa is grief-stricken, but gradually recovers.
Lottie, now grown up, discovers the true identity of her birth parents and presents herself to her mother. Eventually they have a falling out over Louisa's wish that Lottie become a lady and Lottie's realization that she will never be accepted by town society and her desire for a singing career instead.
Louisa's parents occasionally make an appearance in the series. She is on very good terms with her ineffectual, but loving father (John Rapley), but not with her critical, abrasively selfish mother (June Brown
). Late in the series, Louisa's father dies, after giving a modest sum of money to his granddaughter, Lottie, to help her pursue her singing career. Louisa becomes reconciled to Lottie's career choice and decides to support Lottie in her career as well.
BBC television drama
BBC television dramas have been produced and broadcast since even before the public service company had an officially established television broadcasting network in the United Kingdom...
series set in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
between 1900 and 1935. It was created by John Hawkesworth
John Hawkesworth (producer)
John Hawkesworth was an English television and film producer and writer best known for his work on the period drama Upstairs, Downstairs.-Early life:...
, the former producer of the highly successful ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
period drama Upstairs, Downstairs
Upstairs, Downstairs
Upstairs, Downstairs is a British drama television series originally produced by London Weekend Television and revived by the BBC. It ran on ITV in 68 episodes divided into five series from 1971 to 1975, and a sixth series shown on the BBC on three consecutive nights, 26–28 December 2010.Set in a...
. It starred Gemma Jones
Gemma Jones
Gemma Jones is an English character actress on both stage and screen.-Early life:Jones was born in London, England, the daughter of Irene and Griffith Jones, an actor. Her brother, Nicholas Jones, is also an actor...
as Louisa Trotter, the eponymous "Duchess" who works her way up from servant to renowned cook to proprietrix of the upper-class Bentinck Hotel in Duke Street, Marylebone
Duke Street, Marylebone
Duke Street is a street crossing the western half of Oxford Street, London and connecting Wigmore Street and Grosvenor Square. It is best known as the setting for the TV series The Duchess of Duke Street and as the headquarters of the Artists' Rifles.It is often confused with the relatively...
, in London.
The story is loosely based on the real-life career of Rosa Lewis
Rosa Lewis
Rosa Lewis, née Ovenden was a British chef and owner of The Cavendish Hotel in London, located at the intersection of Jermyn Street and Duke Street, St James. Known as the "Queen of Cooks", her culinary skills were highly prized by Edward VII, with whom she was rumoured to have had an affair in...
(née Ovenden), the "Duchess of Jermyn Street
Jermyn Street
Jermyn Street is a street in the City of Westminster, central London, to the south, parallel and adjacent to Piccadilly.It is well known as a street where the shops are almost exclusively aimed at the Gentleman's market and is famous for its resident shirtmakers Jermyn Street is a street in the...
", who ran the Cavendish Hotel in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. When the show first aired, there were many people who still remembered her, as she lived until 1952. According to census returns, she was born in Leyton, Essex, to a watchmaker. In the series, Louisa's family name is Leyton, and her father is a clock-maker.
The programme lasted for two series totalling 31 episodes, shown between 1976 and 1977. It was nominated for an Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
for Outstanding Limited Series in 1980. The theme music was composed by Alexander Faris
Alexander Faris
Alexander "Sandy" Faris is an Irish composer, conductor and writer, known for his television theme tunes. He has composed and recorded many operas and musicals, and has composed film scores and orchestral works.-Life and career:...
.
Plot summary
Beautiful no-nonsense Louisa Leyton (Gemma JonesGemma Jones
Gemma Jones is an English character actress on both stage and screen.-Early life:Jones was born in London, England, the daughter of Irene and Griffith Jones, an actor. Her brother, Nicholas Jones, is also an actor...
) has one driving ambition: to become a great cook. She finds employment as a cook in the household of Lord Henry Norton (Bryan Coleman). His handsome, wealthy, aristocratic nephew, Charlie Tyrrell (Christopher Cazenove
Christopher Cazenove
Christopher Cazenove was an English cinema, television and stage actor.-Early life and career:He was born Christopher de Lerisson Cazenove, the son of Arnold de Lerisson Cazenove and Elizabeth Laura in Winchester, Hampshire, but was brought up in Bowlish, Somerset...
), attempts to seduce the attractive redhead, but she rebuffs him, stating clearly her intentions of becoming the best cook in London. Louisa manages to convince Lord Norton's sexist French chef, Monsieur Alex (George Pravda
George Pravda
George Pravda was a Czechoslovakian film and television actor.He began his career in Czechoslovakia, where he was credited as Jirí Pravda, and then emigrated to the United Kingdom....
), into accepting her as his apprentice.
Roger Hammond (actor)
Roger Hammond is an English character actor who has appeared in many films and television series.Hammond attended Cambridge University, and appeared extensively in their drama program, alongside actors such as Ian McKellen, Derek Jacobi, and John Wood. Following that, he attended the Royal Academy...
), who admires both her cooking and her appearance. After the dinner, Louisa is pressured into becoming Edward's mistress. Against her own wishes, she agrees to marry Lord Norton's head butler, Augustus 'Gus' Trotter (Donald Burton), to maintain the appearance of respectability and to protect the royal reputation. Gus and Louisa are given a house, and her involvement with the prince commences. In time, Edward's mother, Queen Victoria, dies leaving Edward to assume the throne as King Edward VII
Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
and causing him to end his relationship with Louisa.
Louisa's shaky marriage to Gus had become strained, both from her affair with the prince and her great success as a chef. In an effort to help Gus recover his pride, Louisa purchases the Bentinck Hotel and talks a reluctant Gus into managing it.
Before long, Gus, abetted by his sister, lets the authority go to his head. His arrogance alienates the staff and more importantly, the guests. Once Louisa discovers that he has lavishly entertained his friends and driven away the guests, she throws both him and his meddling sister out. Then she discovers, to her horror, the mountain of bills he has left unpaid.
With only Mary to assist her, she sets to work to pay the debts, taking any and all cooking jobs, however humble, but finally, overcome by fatigue, she collapses in the street very early one morning. Fortunately, Charlie Tyrrell is passing by (leaving a late night assignation), and takes her back to the Bentinck. Once he learns of Louisa's financial woes, he overcomes her resistance, pays her debts, and become a silent partner in the hotel.
Louisa keeps one of the Bentinck's employees, an elderly butler called Merriman (John Welsh
John Welsh (actor)
John Welsh was an Irish actor.After an early stage career in Dublin, Welsh moved into British film and television in the 1950s. His roles included James Forsyte in the 1967 BBC dramatisation of John Galsworthy's The Forsyte Saga, as well as the butler Merriman in The Duchess of Duke Street, Sgt...
). She hires the brisk, soldierly Starr (John Cater
John Cater
John Edward Cater was an English actor.His television credits include: Danger Man, Z Cars, The Avengers, The Baron, Doctor Who , Follyfoot, Softly, Softly, Department S, Up Pompeii!, Dad's Army, The Naked Civil Servant, I, Claudius, Alcock and Gander, The Duchess of...
), who is always accompanied by his dog Fred, as the porter. To help round out her staff, Louisa brings with her from their former employer, her loyal Welsh assistant and friend Mary (Victoria Plucknett
Victoria Plucknett
Victoria Plucknett is a Welsh television actress, best known for playing the character of Diane Ashurst in the Welsh soap opera Pobol y Cwm and Mary in The Duchess of Duke Street.-Television:*How Green Was My Valley...
). (Late in the series, Starr and Mary will wed.)
Rounding out the principal cast is Major Toby Smith-Barton (Richard Vernon
Richard Vernon
Richard Vernon was a British actor. He appeared in many feature films and television programmes, often in aristocratic or supercilious roles...
), an upper-class, retired Army officer. The Major enjoys wagering on the horse races, and ends up unable to pay his hotel bill. Reluctant to "toss him out on the street" and liking the man, Louisa offers the Major a position: general adviser, bellhop and greeter.
Charlie and Louisa have a very passionate romance. Infatuated with Charlie, Louisa begins to neglect both the hotel and her cooking. Recognizing what is happening, the Major steps in and has a discreet word with Charles. Knowing how much the establishment means to Louisa, Charlie leaves for an extended stay in America, giving Louisa a chance to refocus on her business. Grief-stricken at first, Louisa eventually regains her senses and makes the Bentinck a great success, only to discover that she is pregnant. Eventually, Louisa secretly gives birth to their illegitimate daughter, Lottie (Lalla Ward
Lalla Ward
Sarah Ward known as Lalla Ward, is an English actor, author and illustrator. As an actor, she is known for playing the part of Romana in the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who. She is married to evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins.-Early career:Ward's stage name, "Lalla", comes...
). Fearing a scandal, Lottie is discreetly sent away and adopted by a young couple who work on Charlie's estate. Later, Charlie and Louisa agree to remain friends, but not lovers.
Sometime later, upon the death of his father, Charlie inherits the family fortune and the title of Lord Haslemere. With Louisa's approval, Charlie marries another woman. He tells Louisa that if his marriage has any hope of working, he will have to be away from her.
However, when Charlie's wife later passes away, he and Louisa resume their relationship. They decide to postpone their wedding until the end of the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Tragically, Charlie dies as a result of injuries received in the war. Louisa is grief-stricken, but gradually recovers.
Lottie, now grown up, discovers the true identity of her birth parents and presents herself to her mother. Eventually they have a falling out over Louisa's wish that Lottie become a lady and Lottie's realization that she will never be accepted by town society and her desire for a singing career instead.
Louisa's parents occasionally make an appearance in the series. She is on very good terms with her ineffectual, but loving father (John Rapley), but not with her critical, abrasively selfish mother (June Brown
June Brown
June Muriel Brown, MBE is a British actress, best known for her role as the busy-body, chain-smoking gossip Dot Cotton in the long-running British soap opera EastEnders and for making other high profile television appearances on shows such as Doctor Who, Coronation Street, Minder, The Bill and...
). Late in the series, Louisa's father dies, after giving a modest sum of money to his granddaughter, Lottie, to help her pursue her singing career. Louisa becomes reconciled to Lottie's career choice and decides to support Lottie in her career as well.
Characters
- Louisa Trotter (née Leyton) (Gemma JonesGemma JonesGemma Jones is an English character actress on both stage and screen.-Early life:Jones was born in London, England, the daughter of Irene and Griffith Jones, an actor. Her brother, Nicholas Jones, is also an actor...
) - Charles "Charlie" Tyrrell, later Lord Haslemere (Christopher CazenoveChristopher CazenoveChristopher Cazenove was an English cinema, television and stage actor.-Early life and career:He was born Christopher de Lerisson Cazenove, the son of Arnold de Lerisson Cazenove and Elizabeth Laura in Winchester, Hampshire, but was brought up in Bowlish, Somerset...
) - Mary (Victoria PlucknettVictoria PlucknettVictoria Plucknett is a Welsh television actress, best known for playing the character of Diane Ashurst in the Welsh soap opera Pobol y Cwm and Mary in The Duchess of Duke Street.-Television:*How Green Was My Valley...
) - Starr (John CaterJohn CaterJohn Edward Cater was an English actor.His television credits include: Danger Man, Z Cars, The Avengers, The Baron, Doctor Who , Follyfoot, Softly, Softly, Department S, Up Pompeii!, Dad's Army, The Naked Civil Servant, I, Claudius, Alcock and Gander, The Duchess of...
) - Merriman (John WelshJohn Welsh (actor)John Welsh was an Irish actor.After an early stage career in Dublin, Welsh moved into British film and television in the 1950s. His roles included James Forsyte in the 1967 BBC dramatisation of John Galsworthy's The Forsyte Saga, as well as the butler Merriman in The Duchess of Duke Street, Sgt...
) - Major Smith-Barton (Richard VernonRichard VernonRichard Vernon was a British actor. He appeared in many feature films and television programmes, often in aristocratic or supercilious roles...
) - Augustus Trotter (Donald BurtonDonald BurtonDonald Burton was an English theatre and television actor. Burton was the husband of actress Carroll Baker....
) - Mrs. Violet Leyton (June BrownJune BrownJune Muriel Brown, MBE is a British actress, best known for her role as the busy-body, chain-smoking gossip Dot Cotton in the long-running British soap opera EastEnders and for making other high profile television appearances on shows such as Doctor Who, Coronation Street, Minder, The Bill and...
) - Mr. Ernest Leyton (John Rapley)
- Lottie (Philippa Shackleton, Lalla WardLalla WardSarah Ward known as Lalla Ward, is an English actor, author and illustrator. As an actor, she is known for playing the part of Romana in the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who. She is married to evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins.-Early career:Ward's stage name, "Lalla", comes...
). Gemma Jones is only eight years and six months older than Ward. - Lord Henry Norton (Bryan ColemanBryan ColemanBryan Coleman was a British film actor and television actor.-Selected filmography:* A Window in London * Jassy * Landfall * The Lost Hours * The Planter's Wife...
), Louisa's employer for part of the first series, beginning in the first episode - Monsieur Alex (George PravdaGeorge PravdaGeorge Pravda was a Czechoslovakian film and television actor.He began his career in Czechoslovakia, where he was credited as Jirí Pravda, and then emigrated to the United Kingdom....
) - the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII (Roger HammondRoger Hammond (actor)Roger Hammond is an English character actor who has appeared in many films and television series.Hammond attended Cambridge University, and appeared extensively in their drama program, alongside actors such as Ian McKellen, Derek Jacobi, and John Wood. Following that, he attended the Royal Academy...
)