Review of The Duchess of Duke Street

The Duchess of Duke Street was one of the great television series that I looked forward to on Masterpiece Theatre every Sunday night on PBS back in the early days of cable television. It showed how great television could be with this and other TV series like I Claudius, Edward the King, the original All Creatures Great and Small, Upstairs/Downstairs and others. I will never forget Gemma Jones' outstanding performance as Louisa Trotter, the owner and chef extraordinaire of the Bentinck Hotel, along with her staff-Starr, Merriman, Mary, and her favourite tenant The Major. Louisa was a tough taskmaster but she also had a big heart. A fresh bottle of champagne was always on hand whenever she had something special to toast with the other residents of the hotel. The viewer can appreciate the class structure that Louisa, as a working class girl, had to crack through to get to the top of her profession, including her relationship with the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII. Her ongoing romantic relationship with Chris Cazenove, as Charlie, is an interesting and often complicated element in the story. The series combines humour, class structure, strong friendships and romance in this great story. John Hawkesworth, the producer of this show and Upstairs/Downstairs, also deserves his share of credit. Thanks again, Masterpiece.