The Forsyte Saga: To Let (2003 miniseries)
Encyclopedia
The Forsyte Saga: To Let is a 2003 British television serial produced by Granada Television
for the ITV
network, based on the book by John Galsworthy
. The serial followed the successful adaptation of the first two books and the first interlude
of The Forsyte Saga
in 2002.
) as Soames, (Gina McKee
) as Irene and (Rupert Graves
) as Jolyon along with (Lee Williams) as Jon and (Emma Griffiths Malin
) as Fleur.
)takes her half brother John on an impromptu visit to her Aunt Hester’s (Ann Bell
) only to discover that it is her birthday and a party is being held with other members of the Forsyte family, including Soames and his daughter Fleur. The children are encouraged to play outside and playing by a pond Fleur soils her dress with mud. Soames shouts at Jon for encouraging bad behaviour. Back at Robin Hill, Irene Forsyte is angry when Jon talks about the “nasty man” that yelled at him and is disappointed that June should have exposed him to that side of the family hoping that he will forget the encounter quickly.
Eleven years later in 1920, June is running a fashionable gallery in London and has a new exhibition. Soames and Fleur attend the gallery, not knowing it to belong to June, and run into Irene and Jon there. Irene is instantly made ill at ease with the presence of Soames, but Jon and Fleur seem to be intrigued with one another, especially upon discovering that they are, as Soames puts it “distant” cousins. Irene is disturbed by the meeting and tells her husband Jolyon that Jon appeared to be “entranced’ by Fleur. He tells her not to worry and that boys of his age are fickle and that the interest will pass.
At her 18th birthday party, knowing that Holly Dartie (Amanda Ryan
)is Jon’s half sister (and that he is currently staying at Val (Julian Ovenden
) and Holly’s farm) Fleur invites herself to stay with them in order to meet Jon again. At the farm, when Jon is introduced to Fleur she pretends they have not met before and sneaks off early one morning to find Jon, who is working at the farm of Mr Maple nearby. The two connect immediately and both wonder what secrets in their family’s past have created the feud between their families. They agree to keep their friendship a secret. However, Holly is becoming aware that something is between them and confides in her father Jolyon and stepmother Irene who are worried.
Meanwhile Soames has met returned serviceman Michael Mont (Oliver Milburn
) at an art auction where the two bid for a painting by Degas of a girl who Soames believes shares a resemblance with his daughter, Soames invites the young man to his home to see the rest of his art collection.
Montague Dartie (Ben Miles
), his son Val, cousin George (Alistair Petrie
) and Jon Forsyte meet with Prosper Profond (Michael Maloney
), a wealthy Armenian they share an interest in horse racing with, and he starts a seemingly harmless flirtation with Monty’s wife Winifred (Amanda Root
). One evening Prosper claims to have to work and cancels an evening at the opera with Winifred. Later that evening however, Monty sees Prosper leaving the Opera in the company of Soames’s wife Annette.
Jolyon Forsyte visits his doctor and is told that he has a weak heart and that he should not exert himself. Despite this Jolyon confronts Soames telling him to use his influence over his daughter to put an end to their children’s friendship before it goes any further. Soames thinks Jolyon a hypocrite considering that he has always taken pride in following his heart.
Soames and his wife Annette (Beatriz Batarda
) host a country weekend to encourage a match between Fleur and Michael however Fleur is pining for the loss of Jon and does not warm to Michael’s advances. While the guests are being farewelled Fleur and her friend Cherry (Olivia Lumley) see Annette and Prosper in each other’s arms in the garden and Fleur is outraged at her betrayal of Soames.
While Irene and Jon are away, missing Jon, Fleur goes to Robin Hill. Jolyon does not know her true identity and invites her in for lemonade and bemoans the fact that he is missing Irene and Jon. Jolyon tells June he is ill and Irene and Jon return home, their attempt at having him forget about Fleur having failed. He is missing her more every day and as soon as they arrive home the pair reunite, Fleur confessing to Jon that she visited Robin Hill in his absence.
Fleur has discovered a photograph of Irene in a frame behind one of her mother and assumes that Jolyon stole Irene from Soames and this is the reason for the family feud.
After his usual run of bad luck Monty Dartie gets onto a winning streak only to be killed in a car accident on his way home with his winnings. At his funeral Prosper tells Fleur that her father and Jon’s mother were in fact married and divorced.
Immediately after the funeral, Fleur goes to Robin Hill to tell Jon her discovery and is forced to have tea with Irene and Jolyon, who is obviously furious at having been deceived by her when his wife and son were abroad. After an argument with his parents Jon leaves Robin Hill and heads to one of Farmer Maple’s cottages.
An anonymous letter arrives at MapleDurham telling Soames of his wife’s affair with Prosper; however she laughs it off as gossip and falsehood and continues her liaison. Soon after however, Prosper advises that he has tired of England and is going abroad. Soames is pleased but sees how much it has hurt Annette and trieds to comfort her as best he can.
Michael Mont asks Soames to become a formal suitor for Fleur’s hand and two weeks later the pair are invited, along with Fleur’s parents, to join Winifred in her tent at the Eaton-Harrow cricket match. While there, Soames is upset at the sight of Jolyon and Irene, obviously still very much in love, and Jon and Fleur manage a rendezvous that is seen by Jolyon. Prosper arrives at the cricket match and manages to woo back Annette and Soames angrily resigns himself to the fact that he has an unfaithful wife for a second time.
After the cricket match Jolyon confesses to Irene that he is unwell and they agree to tell Jon the truth about the past and Soames obsession with his mother. After this painful confession Jolyon suffers a massive heart attack and dies in the arms of his wife and son.
After his family have spread his ashes on the grave of Jolyon’s father, Fleur, being stood up at the train station for their elopement, arrives at Robin Hill to see Jon. Grief-stricken and emotional, Jon gives in to temptation and he and Fleur make love. The couple are caught by June who berates Jon for being so stupid and unfeeling on that day of all days.
Finally Jon and Irene go out to her and she accuses Irene of trying to keep Jon “all to herself” claiming “he’s mine!” It is then that Jon realises that she is like her father, and thinks of people as being possessions. Fleur, exhausted, reluctantly goes home with her father.
Fleur, like her father when Irene left him, takes to her bed and refuses to see her father whom she blames for her disappointment, but over time is again wooed by Michael Mont and, thinking all hope lost for her and Jon, eventually agrees to an engagement.
Prosper Profond visits Robin Hill with Holly to offer Jon some work and tells him of Fleur’s romance with Michael. Jon is incensed that she should so quickly take up with someone else and Prosper facilitates a meeting between them. Jon tries to convince Fleur not to marry Michael, even though he cannot bring himself to hurt his family by being with her. She accuses him of being the one to treat her like a possession and says “If you won’t have me then I’ll do it my own way – and I’ll forget about you Jon Forsyte – I swear I will!”
Fleur’s feud with her father continues until the day of her wedding when Soames confesses to his abuse of Irene all those years ago and laments that every time they meet Irene thinks only of that moment. Fleur softens toward him at this revelation, convinced that it is better to be in a loveless marriage than to be exposed to heartbreak as her father was with Irene, and Michael and Fleur marry.
Soames arrives at Robin Hill and there is a “To Let” sign on the front gate. He has come to give the Degas painting that resembles Fleur to Jon. Both he and Irene question whether parting the young lovers was the right thing to do and admit that they miss the company of their children – Jon is abroad and Fleur on her honeymoon. They part with a handshake. When Parfit, the butler, asks what the visitor wanted Irene responds with surprise “He didn’t want anything.”
Granada Television
Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
for the 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...
network, based on the book by John Galsworthy
John Galsworthy
John Galsworthy OM was an English novelist and playwright. Notable works include The Forsyte Saga and its sequels, A Modern Comedy and End of the Chapter...
. The serial followed the successful adaptation of the first two books and the first interlude
The Forsyte Saga (2002 miniseries)
In 2002 the first two books and the first interlude of John Galsworthy's trilogy The Forsyte Saga were adapted by Granada Television for the ITV network...
of The Forsyte Saga
The Forsyte Saga
The Forsyte Saga is a series of three novels and two interludes published between 1906 and 1921 by John Galsworthy. They chronicle the vicissitudes of the leading members of an upper-middle-class British family, similar to Galsworthy's own...
in 2002.
Cast
Many of the original cast members returned including (Damian LewisDamian Lewis
Lewis was born in St John's Wood, London, the son of Charlotte Mary and J. Watcyn Lewis, a City broker. His paternal grandparents were Welsh. His maternal grandfather was Lord Mayor of London Ian Frank Bowater and his maternal grandmother's ancestors include Bertrand Dawson, 1st Viscount Dawson of...
) as Soames, (Gina McKee
Gina McKee
Georgina "Gina" McKee is an English actor known for her television roles in Our Friends in the North , The Lost Prince and The Forsyte Saga ; and her portrayal of Bella in the film Notting Hill ....
) as Irene and (Rupert Graves
Rupert Graves
Rupert Graves is an English film, television and theatre actor. He is best known for his role as DI Lestrade in the critically acclaimed television series Sherlock.-Early life:...
) as Jolyon along with (Lee Williams) as Jon and (Emma Griffiths Malin
Emma Griffiths Malin
Emma Griffiths Malin is an English-born actress and film director. She was raised by her parents in west London. Her grandparents are the actors Mark Eden and Joan Le Mesurier....
) as Fleur.
| Character | Actor | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Soames Forsyte | Damian Lewis Damian Lewis Lewis was born in St John's Wood, London, the son of Charlotte Mary and J. Watcyn Lewis, a City broker. His paternal grandparents were Welsh. His maternal grandfather was Lord Mayor of London Ian Frank Bowater and his maternal grandmother's ancestors include Bertrand Dawson, 1st Viscount Dawson of... |
a solicitor, Fleur's father |
| Irene Forsyte | Gina McKee Gina McKee Georgina "Gina" McKee is an English actor known for her television roles in Our Friends in the North , The Lost Prince and The Forsyte Saga ; and her portrayal of Bella in the film Notting Hill .... |
Jolyon's third wife, Soames's first wife |
| Young Jolyon Forsyte | Rupert Graves Rupert Graves Rupert Graves is an English film, television and theatre actor. He is best known for his role as DI Lestrade in the critically acclaimed television series Sherlock.-Early life:... |
a painter, married to Irene |
| Fleur Forsyte | Emma Griffiths Malin Emma Griffiths Malin Emma Griffiths Malin is an English-born actress and film director. She was raised by her parents in west London. Her grandparents are the actors Mark Eden and Joan Le Mesurier.... |
Soames and Annette's daughter |
| Jon Forsyte | Lee Williams | Jolyon and Irene's son |
| June Forsyte | Gillian Kearney Gillian Kearney Gillian Louise Kearney is an English actress best known for playing Jessica Harrison in the long-running BBC television medical drama series Casualty, and her early role as Debbie McGrath in Channel 4's Liverpool-based soap opera Brookside and the spin-off mini-series Damon and Debbie.-Early... |
Jolyon's daughter from his first marriage |
| Annette Forsyte | Beatriz Batarda Beatriz Batarda Beatriz da Silveira Moreno Batarda is a Portuguese actress named as one of European films 'Shooting Stars' by European Film Promotion in 1998. She studied Design at IADE Institute in Lisbon and trained in acting at Guidhall School of Music and Drama in London.She was born in London and grew up in... |
Soames's second wife, Fleur's mother |
| Winifred Dartie | Amanda Root Amanda Root Amanda Root is an English stage and screen actor and a former voice actor for children's programmes.Root known for her starring role in the 1995 BBC film adaptation of Jane Austen's Persuasion and the British TV comedy All About Me, as Miranda, alongside Richard Lumsden in 2004 and when she was a... |
Soames's sister |
| Montague Dartie | Ben Miles Ben Miles Ben Miles is an English actor, best known for his starring role as Patrick Maitland in the British TV comedy Coupling, from 2000 to 2004.-Life and career:... |
Winifred's husband |
| Prosper Profond | Michael Maloney Michael Maloney Michael Maloney is an English actor.Born in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, Maloney's first television appearance was as Peter Barkworth's teenage son in the 1979 drama series, Telford's Change.... |
Winifred's admirer, Annette's lover |
| Aunt Hester Forsyte | Ann Bell Ann Bell Ann Bell is a British actress, best known for playing war internee Marion Jefferson in the BBC World War II drama series Tenko during the early 1980s. She was born in Wallasey, Cheshire, daughter of John Forrest Bell and Marjorie Bell, and educated at Birkenhead High School... |
the last of the old Forsytes |
| George Forsyte | Alistair Petrie Alistair Petrie Alistair Petrie is an English actor. In 2007 he has appeared in The Mark of Cain, The Whistleblowers and Cranford. As well as other TV work such as Emma and The Forsyte Saga: To Let, he has also appeared in the music video for "Bellissimo" by Ilya, directed by the Guard Brothers... |
Soames and Winifred's cousin |
| Val Dartie | Julian Ovenden Julian Ovenden Julian Ovenden is an English stage, television and film actor and singer. He is one of three children of Canon John Ovenden, chaplain to Queen Elizabeth II.... |
Winifred and Montague's son |
| Holly Dartie (née Forsyte) | Amanda Ryan Amanda Ryan Amanda Ryan is a British actress who trained at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. She is best known for her role on TV series Shameless as Sgt... |
Val's wife, Jolyon's daughter from his second marriage |
| Michael Mont | Oliver Milburn Oliver Milburn Oliver Milburn , occasionally known by the name Oz Milburn, is an English actor.-Early life:Milburn was born in Dorset and educated at the Dragon School in Oxford, and then Eton College. He then went straight into television, with no formal acting training.-Career:He played Matthew Bannerman in... |
a baronet, Fleur's future husband |
Episode One
Nine years have passed since the events of the first series. June Forsyte (Gillian KearneyGillian Kearney
Gillian Louise Kearney is an English actress best known for playing Jessica Harrison in the long-running BBC television medical drama series Casualty, and her early role as Debbie McGrath in Channel 4's Liverpool-based soap opera Brookside and the spin-off mini-series Damon and Debbie.-Early...
)takes her half brother John on an impromptu visit to her Aunt Hester’s (Ann Bell
Ann Bell
Ann Bell is a British actress, best known for playing war internee Marion Jefferson in the BBC World War II drama series Tenko during the early 1980s. She was born in Wallasey, Cheshire, daughter of John Forrest Bell and Marjorie Bell, and educated at Birkenhead High School...
) only to discover that it is her birthday and a party is being held with other members of the Forsyte family, including Soames and his daughter Fleur. The children are encouraged to play outside and playing by a pond Fleur soils her dress with mud. Soames shouts at Jon for encouraging bad behaviour. Back at Robin Hill, Irene Forsyte is angry when Jon talks about the “nasty man” that yelled at him and is disappointed that June should have exposed him to that side of the family hoping that he will forget the encounter quickly.
Eleven years later in 1920, June is running a fashionable gallery in London and has a new exhibition. Soames and Fleur attend the gallery, not knowing it to belong to June, and run into Irene and Jon there. Irene is instantly made ill at ease with the presence of Soames, but Jon and Fleur seem to be intrigued with one another, especially upon discovering that they are, as Soames puts it “distant” cousins. Irene is disturbed by the meeting and tells her husband Jolyon that Jon appeared to be “entranced’ by Fleur. He tells her not to worry and that boys of his age are fickle and that the interest will pass.
At her 18th birthday party, knowing that Holly Dartie (Amanda Ryan
Amanda Ryan
Amanda Ryan is a British actress who trained at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. She is best known for her role on TV series Shameless as Sgt...
)is Jon’s half sister (and that he is currently staying at Val (Julian Ovenden
Julian Ovenden
Julian Ovenden is an English stage, television and film actor and singer. He is one of three children of Canon John Ovenden, chaplain to Queen Elizabeth II....
) and Holly’s farm) Fleur invites herself to stay with them in order to meet Jon again. At the farm, when Jon is introduced to Fleur she pretends they have not met before and sneaks off early one morning to find Jon, who is working at the farm of Mr Maple nearby. The two connect immediately and both wonder what secrets in their family’s past have created the feud between their families. They agree to keep their friendship a secret. However, Holly is becoming aware that something is between them and confides in her father Jolyon and stepmother Irene who are worried.
Meanwhile Soames has met returned serviceman Michael Mont (Oliver Milburn
Oliver Milburn
Oliver Milburn , occasionally known by the name Oz Milburn, is an English actor.-Early life:Milburn was born in Dorset and educated at the Dragon School in Oxford, and then Eton College. He then went straight into television, with no formal acting training.-Career:He played Matthew Bannerman in...
) at an art auction where the two bid for a painting by Degas of a girl who Soames believes shares a resemblance with his daughter, Soames invites the young man to his home to see the rest of his art collection.
Montague Dartie (Ben Miles
Ben Miles
Ben Miles is an English actor, best known for his starring role as Patrick Maitland in the British TV comedy Coupling, from 2000 to 2004.-Life and career:...
), his son Val, cousin George (Alistair Petrie
Alistair Petrie
Alistair Petrie is an English actor. In 2007 he has appeared in The Mark of Cain, The Whistleblowers and Cranford. As well as other TV work such as Emma and The Forsyte Saga: To Let, he has also appeared in the music video for "Bellissimo" by Ilya, directed by the Guard Brothers...
) and Jon Forsyte meet with Prosper Profond (Michael Maloney
Michael Maloney
Michael Maloney is an English actor.Born in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, Maloney's first television appearance was as Peter Barkworth's teenage son in the 1979 drama series, Telford's Change....
), a wealthy Armenian they share an interest in horse racing with, and he starts a seemingly harmless flirtation with Monty’s wife Winifred (Amanda Root
Amanda Root
Amanda Root is an English stage and screen actor and a former voice actor for children's programmes.Root known for her starring role in the 1995 BBC film adaptation of Jane Austen's Persuasion and the British TV comedy All About Me, as Miranda, alongside Richard Lumsden in 2004 and when she was a...
). One evening Prosper claims to have to work and cancels an evening at the opera with Winifred. Later that evening however, Monty sees Prosper leaving the Opera in the company of Soames’s wife Annette.
Jolyon Forsyte visits his doctor and is told that he has a weak heart and that he should not exert himself. Despite this Jolyon confronts Soames telling him to use his influence over his daughter to put an end to their children’s friendship before it goes any further. Soames thinks Jolyon a hypocrite considering that he has always taken pride in following his heart.
Episode Two
After a week Fleur and Jon leave Holly and Val’s farm by train and Jon becomes jealous when he sees Michael Mont collecting Fleur by boat to take her home to MapleDurham and Irene takes Jon on holiday to Paris in order to try to prevent his and Fleur’s relationship from blossoming.Soames and his wife Annette (Beatriz Batarda
Beatriz Batarda
Beatriz da Silveira Moreno Batarda is a Portuguese actress named as one of European films 'Shooting Stars' by European Film Promotion in 1998. She studied Design at IADE Institute in Lisbon and trained in acting at Guidhall School of Music and Drama in London.She was born in London and grew up in...
) host a country weekend to encourage a match between Fleur and Michael however Fleur is pining for the loss of Jon and does not warm to Michael’s advances. While the guests are being farewelled Fleur and her friend Cherry (Olivia Lumley) see Annette and Prosper in each other’s arms in the garden and Fleur is outraged at her betrayal of Soames.
While Irene and Jon are away, missing Jon, Fleur goes to Robin Hill. Jolyon does not know her true identity and invites her in for lemonade and bemoans the fact that he is missing Irene and Jon. Jolyon tells June he is ill and Irene and Jon return home, their attempt at having him forget about Fleur having failed. He is missing her more every day and as soon as they arrive home the pair reunite, Fleur confessing to Jon that she visited Robin Hill in his absence.
Fleur has discovered a photograph of Irene in a frame behind one of her mother and assumes that Jolyon stole Irene from Soames and this is the reason for the family feud.
After his usual run of bad luck Monty Dartie gets onto a winning streak only to be killed in a car accident on his way home with his winnings. At his funeral Prosper tells Fleur that her father and Jon’s mother were in fact married and divorced.
Immediately after the funeral, Fleur goes to Robin Hill to tell Jon her discovery and is forced to have tea with Irene and Jolyon, who is obviously furious at having been deceived by her when his wife and son were abroad. After an argument with his parents Jon leaves Robin Hill and heads to one of Farmer Maple’s cottages.
Episode Three
Fleur arrives at the cottage and, though they sleep in separate beds, their love increases with Jon’s estrangement from his family. While Jon is out working one day Jolyon arrives and implores Fleur to give up Jon, telling her he is ill and he needs Jon by his side more than ever. She does not tell Jon of their conversation and despite her assurances to Jolyon, she and Jon plan to elope to Scotland in three weeks time, where they do not need parental consent to marry.An anonymous letter arrives at MapleDurham telling Soames of his wife’s affair with Prosper; however she laughs it off as gossip and falsehood and continues her liaison. Soon after however, Prosper advises that he has tired of England and is going abroad. Soames is pleased but sees how much it has hurt Annette and trieds to comfort her as best he can.
Michael Mont asks Soames to become a formal suitor for Fleur’s hand and two weeks later the pair are invited, along with Fleur’s parents, to join Winifred in her tent at the Eaton-Harrow cricket match. While there, Soames is upset at the sight of Jolyon and Irene, obviously still very much in love, and Jon and Fleur manage a rendezvous that is seen by Jolyon. Prosper arrives at the cricket match and manages to woo back Annette and Soames angrily resigns himself to the fact that he has an unfaithful wife for a second time.
After the cricket match Jolyon confesses to Irene that he is unwell and they agree to tell Jon the truth about the past and Soames obsession with his mother. After this painful confession Jolyon suffers a massive heart attack and dies in the arms of his wife and son.
After his family have spread his ashes on the grave of Jolyon’s father, Fleur, being stood up at the train station for their elopement, arrives at Robin Hill to see Jon. Grief-stricken and emotional, Jon gives in to temptation and he and Fleur make love. The couple are caught by June who berates Jon for being so stupid and unfeeling on that day of all days.
Episode Four
Fleur returns home and insists that nothing can prevent her and Jon from being together and convinces Soames to speak with Irene on her behalf. The pair travel to Robin Hill but because of his parents' revelations about the past and also because he witnesses Soames's obsessive behaviour toward his mother; Jon turns Soames from the house and refuses to see Fleur who calls to Jon desperately from the garden.Finally Jon and Irene go out to her and she accuses Irene of trying to keep Jon “all to herself” claiming “he’s mine!” It is then that Jon realises that she is like her father, and thinks of people as being possessions. Fleur, exhausted, reluctantly goes home with her father.
Fleur, like her father when Irene left him, takes to her bed and refuses to see her father whom she blames for her disappointment, but over time is again wooed by Michael Mont and, thinking all hope lost for her and Jon, eventually agrees to an engagement.
Prosper Profond visits Robin Hill with Holly to offer Jon some work and tells him of Fleur’s romance with Michael. Jon is incensed that she should so quickly take up with someone else and Prosper facilitates a meeting between them. Jon tries to convince Fleur not to marry Michael, even though he cannot bring himself to hurt his family by being with her. She accuses him of being the one to treat her like a possession and says “If you won’t have me then I’ll do it my own way – and I’ll forget about you Jon Forsyte – I swear I will!”
Fleur’s feud with her father continues until the day of her wedding when Soames confesses to his abuse of Irene all those years ago and laments that every time they meet Irene thinks only of that moment. Fleur softens toward him at this revelation, convinced that it is better to be in a loveless marriage than to be exposed to heartbreak as her father was with Irene, and Michael and Fleur marry.
Soames arrives at Robin Hill and there is a “To Let” sign on the front gate. He has come to give the Degas painting that resembles Fleur to Jon. Both he and Irene question whether parting the young lovers was the right thing to do and admit that they miss the company of their children – Jon is abroad and Fleur on her honeymoon. They part with a handshake. When Parfit, the butler, asks what the visitor wanted Irene responds with surprise “He didn’t want anything.”