Love In A Cold Climate (BBC-1 2001, Elisabeth Dermot Walsh, Megan Dodds)

Back in the 1930’s the Mitford sisters were a bit like the Kardashians of the day, although obviously with less shameless self publicising involved, their aristocractic lives were a whirl of parties and glamour and saw them mixing with the likes of Hitler in pre-war Germany.

Nancy wrote a couple of novels, Love in a Cold Climate and The Pursuit of Love, based very closely on the Shananigans of her own family and in 2001 the BBC mounted a lavish, big budget adaptation (scripted by the excellent Deborah Moggach).

Climate is the story of three sisters, Linda, Polly and Fanny who have dedicated themselves to finding love as they pass through the well to do society of the 1930s. LIACC is your archetypal, modern BBC costume drama, beautifully filmed, high production values and an all star cast as well as featuting some up and coming faces destined to go places, so here we have Rosamund Pike, Elisabeth Dermot Walsh and Megan Dodds as the girls and roles for stalwarts such as Celia Imrie, Sheila Gish and the legendary Alan Bates.

cast
ELISABETH DERMOT WALSH as Linda
MEGAN DODDS as Polly
ROSAMUND PIKE as Fanny
ALAN BATES as Uncle Matthew
CELIA IMRIE as Aunt Sadie
SHEILA GISH as Lady Montdore
ANTHONY ANDREWS as Boy Dugdale
JOHN WOOD as Lord Merlin
GEOFFREY STREATFIELD as Tony Kroesig
FRANCES BARBER as The Bolter
JANE HOW as Veronica
SAMUEL LABARTHE as Fabrice
JEREMY CHILD as Sir Lester Kroesig
SARAH BADEL as Lady Kroesig
JEMIMA ROOPER as Jasst
JOHN STANDING as Lord Montdore

crew details
Writer: Deborah Moggach
Novels: The Pursuits of Love and Love In A Cold Climate by Nancy Mitford
Script Editor: Lisa Osbourne
Music: Rob Lane
Design: Gerry Scott
Camera: Larry Smith
Executive Producers: Jane Tranter, Pippa Harris

production details
Country: UK, USA
Studio: BBC One
Duration: 2×75 minute episodes
Aired From: 4-11 February 2001