Little Dorrit (BBC-1 2008, Matthew Macfadyen, Tom Courtenay)

In the period drama serial Little Dorrit young Amy is forced to look after her ageing father William who is languishing inside a London debtors prison. When the stranger Arthur Clennam turns up, it changes the lives of the Dorrit’s forever. Arthur is on a quest to honour the dying wish of his father to “put it right”, he is convinced that the Dorrit’s are somehow tied up in his quest and determines to help them out of their situation, something he manages to do when he discovers they are heir to a massive fortune.

The money transforms their lives of course and they soon mingling with high society but a wicked stranger, Rigaud, may just threaten to put them right back where they started.

The BBC goes all Bleak House in this electrifying drama, adapted by Andrew Davies (who also did Bleak – come on Andrew isn’t it time you got back to original drama and allowed us to catch up with the gang from A Very Peculiar Practice once again.) Once again the casting is superb and includes a duo of Doctor Who renegades in the shape of Torchwood’s Eve Myles and Freema Agyeman. Little Dorrit is one of Dickens’ lesser known novels which make this new adaptation all the more flavoursome, the story is going to be pretty new to most of the audience. At it’s heart though is a wonderful love story between Arthur and Amy.

Very popular and deservedly so, particularly in the USA where it won 11 Emmy Award nominations. Broadcast in Australian June-July 2010 as four two hour episodes.

production details
UK / BBC-1 / 1×60 minute episode 14×30 minute episodes / Broadcast Sunday 26 October – 11 December 2008

Writer: Andrew Davies / Novel: Charles Dickens / Producer: Lisa Osborne / Executive Producer: Anne Pivcevic / Directors: Dearbhla Walsh, Adam Smith, Diarmuid Lawrence

cast
CLAIRE FOY as Little Dorrit
MATTHEW MACFADYEN as Arthur Clennam
TOM COURTENAY as William Dorrit
JUDY PARFITT as Mrs Clennam
ANDY SERKIS as Rigaud
JAMES FLEET as Frederick Dorrit
AMANDA REDMAN as Mrs Merdle
EMMA PIERSON as Fanny Dorrit
EVE MYLES as Maggy
FREEMA AGYEMAN as Tattycoram
MAXINE PEAKE as Miss Wade
RUTH JONES as Flora Finching
BILL PATERSON as Mr Meagles
JANINE DUVITSKI as Mrs Meagles
EDDIE MARSAN as Pancks
ALUN ARMSTRONG as Jeremiah and Ephraim Flintwinch
ROBERT HARDY as Tite Barnacle
MACKENZIE CROOK as Harris