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Season 1, Episode 1
Brenda Blethyn and Jessica Reynolds star in this drama based on the bestseller by Barbara Taylor Bradford, charting a woman's rise from maid to businesswoman. In early 1900s Yorkshire, ambitious maid Emma Harte dreams of escaping Fairley Hall for a better life, but is caught up in a forbidden romance with Edwin Fairley, son of the master of the house. In 1970s New York, the world's richest woman is warned that a plot is brewing to take away the empire she has worked so hard to build. With Ewan Horrocks, Will Mellor, Leanne Best and Lydia Leonard
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General
Movie/Drama
Cast & Crew
Jessica Reynolds
(Actor)
.. Young Emma Harte
Emmett J Scanlan
(Actor)
.. Adam Fairley
Lydia Leonard
(Actor)
.. Olivia Wainwright
Leanne Best
(Actor)
.. Adele Fairley
Brenda Blethyn
(Actor)
.. Emma Harte
Harry Cadby
(Actor)
.. Gerald Fairley
Ewan Horrocks
(Actor)
.. Edwin Fairley
Mara Huf
(Actor)
.. Paula Amory
Will Mellor
(Actor)
.. Jack Harte
Hiftu Quasem
(Actor)
.. Priya Chandra
Toby Regbo
(Actor)
.. Jiim Fairley
Lenny Rush
(Actor)
.. Frankie Harte
Niall Wright
(Actor)
.. Mac O'Neill
Vaughn Joseph
(Actor)
.. Bernie
Tyrone Huntley
(Actor)
.. Jerry Sloane
Robert Wilfort
(Actor)
.. Murgatroyd
Georgina Sadler
(Actor)
.. Polly
Sophie Bould
(Actor)
.. Elizabeth Harte
Sagar Arya
(Actor)
.. Sir Vikram Chandra
Katherine Jakeways
(Writer)
John Hardwick
(Director)
Charlie Palmer
(Producer)
Beth Willis
(Executive producer)
Joe Innes
(Executive producer)
George Faber
(Executive producer)
More Information
Did You Know..
Jessica Reynolds
(Actor)
.. Young Emma Harte
Emmett J Scanlan
(Actor)
.. Adam Fairley
Lydia Leonard
(Actor)
.. Olivia Wainwright
Leanne Best
(Actor)
.. Adele Fairley
Best Known For:
Playing Jane Cobden in Ripper Street.
Early-life:
Born in Liverpool in 1980. Leanne studied at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts before moving to London. Here, she worked as a waitress and a shop assistant before making her TV debut in Casualty in 2004.
Career:
Best has appeared in such TV series as Doctors, Shetland, New Tricks, Line of Duty, Fortitude, Ripper Street and Cold Feet. She played the titular role in The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death (2014), as well as Min Sakul in Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) and Rose Deeks in TV film Babs (2017). She has made a number of stage appearances, particularly in Liverpool, in such plays as Macbeth, A Streetcar Named Desire and Educating Rita.
Quote:
'It was never a novel idea to me that women were strong, capable and grounded. You know, sometimes the goddess strews flowers and sometimes she has a flaming torch.'
Trivia:
She trained as an athlete during her teen years and ran competitively for England at 16.
Brenda Blethyn
(Actor)
.. Emma Harte
Born:
February 20, 1946
in
Kent
Best Known For:
Secrets & Lies.
Early-life:
Born Brenda Anne Bottle on February 20, 1946, in Ramsgate, Kent. She's the youngest of nine children of a parlour maid and a chauffeur. Money was tight when she was growing up. After excelling at maths at school, she worked as a secretary and bookkeeper in a bank. But she was always obsessed with films and acting and, at the age of 27, after divorcing her first husband, she gave up her day job and used her savings to fund a drama course at Guildford. She didn't tell her parents, and thought she would go back to her old career if things didn't work out.
Career:
Blethyn gained early experience with two small theatre groups before joining the National Theatre in 1975. Her TV debut was in a 1979 episode of Tales of the Unexpected, and a year later she had a lead role in Mike Leigh's small-screen project Gloria. In 1990 she made her first film, The Witches, following that up with A River Runs Through It. Despite roles in Outside Edge and The Buddha of Suburbia, she didn't become a household name until her Oscar-nominated role in Leigh's Secrets & Lies. Since then she's starred in Girls' Night, Saving Grace, Pride & Prejudice, Atonement, London River, and gained another Oscar nomination for Little Voice. She returned to the small screen in 2011 playing the title role in ITV's detective series Vera.
Quote:
'I don't have ambition. My expectations are low.'
Trivia:
Blethyn was awarded an OBE for services to drama in the 2003 New Year Honours List.
Harry Cadby
(Actor)
.. Gerald Fairley
Ewan Horrocks
(Actor)
.. Edwin Fairley
Mara Huf
(Actor)
.. Paula Amory
Will Mellor
(Actor)
.. Jack Harte
Born:
April 03, 1976
in
Stockport
Best Known For:
Hollyoaks and Casualty.
Early-life:
Born April 3, 1976, in Stockport, Cheshire. He hated school, apart from playing football at lunchtime. Mellor hoped to follow in his father and uncle's footsteps by becoming a boxer, and even took part in amateur bouts, but decided to concentrate on showbusiness instead. At 11, he sang at his sister's wedding reception, where he was spotted by an agent who told him he should try performing professionally.
Career:
Mellor's TV debut came in 1987 when he was cast as a young Clive Barker in a documentary. Three years later, he landed a regular role in Children's Ward, but didn't become well known until Hollyoaks began in 1995. He played the character Jambo for three years. A stint in musical Oh What a Night followed. Since then he's starred in Casualty, Is Harry on the Boat?, Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps and M.I.T: Murder Investigation Team, as well as having a stint in EastEnders. Mellor also had a short-lived pop career and won Celebrity Fame Academy in 2003. Projects since include In With the Flynns, White Van Man and Broadchurch.
Quote:
'There's only so many times I can come in to work with hangovers. I'm trying to take everything a bit more seriously in life, especially my work, because now I've got something to work towards. I've got my children to look after.'
Trivia:
Mellor has modelled for Topman.
Hiftu Quasem
(Actor)
.. Priya Chandra
Toby Regbo
(Actor)
.. Jiim Fairley
Born:
October 18, 1991
in
London, England
Best Known For:
Playing Aethelred in The Last Kingdom.
Early-life:
Toby Finn Regbo was born on October 18, 1991 in London, England. He has a younger brother called Louis. Toby attended Latymer Upper School in West London. He became interested in acting when he took part in school plays and he later attended Young Blood Theatre Company.
Career:
Regbo's career started with a small role in Sharpe's Challenge (2006) and he then went on to appear in an episode of children's TV adventure series M.I. High. One of his most notable roles was in Mr Nobody (2015) as teenage Nemo. He has also appeared in Glorious 39 (2009), One Day (2011) and uwantme2killhim? (2013). Harry Potter fans may recognise him from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part One (2010) as a young Albus Dumbledore. As well as film, Regbo has had recurring roles on TV, including as King Francis II in Reign and Aethelred in The Last Kingdom.
Quote:
On social media: 'I think it's a great way to interact with people, but at the same time, there are much more soul-enriching and less detrimental ways to interact with other human beings.'
Trivia:
He won Best Performance in a British feature film at Edinburgh International Film Festival for his role in uwantme2killhim?.
Lenny Rush
(Actor)
.. Frankie Harte
Niall Wright
(Actor)
.. Mac O'Neill
Vaughn Joseph
(Actor)
.. Bernie
Tyrone Huntley
(Actor)
.. Jerry Sloane
Robert Wilfort
(Actor)
.. Murgatroyd
Georgina Sadler
(Actor)
.. Polly
Sophie Bould
(Actor)
.. Elizabeth Harte
Sagar Arya
(Actor)
.. Sir Vikram Chandra
Katherine Jakeways
(Writer)
John Hardwick
(Director)
Charlie Palmer
(Producer)
Beth Willis
(Executive producer)
Joe Innes
(Executive producer)
George Faber
(Executive producer)
