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Episode 6

Episode 6 of 6

Drama series about 19th-century artists. Rossetti and Lizzie return from their honeymoon, and Fred takes a chance when Annie Miller refuses Hunt's latest offer of marriage.

Drama series set in 19th-century London, following the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.

Rossetti and Lizzie return from their honeymoon ready to settle into conventional married life. However, when Millais proposes the idea of an artistic colony for the Brotherhood and their wives, Rossetti is immediately attracted by the bohemian notion of group living. Lizzie, on the other hand, can't bear to think of Rossetti living under the same roof as other women. Unfortunately for her, it doesn't take an artistic colony for Rossetti's eye to wander, and within days of their return he starts up an affair with William Morris's wife, Jane Burden. When Ruskin also forsakes Lizzie, withdrawing his support for her art now that she is a married woman, it begins to look as if laudanum has become her only remaining refuge.

Hunt sets out to win back Annie Miller, hoping to persuade her to move into the colony with him. He sends Fred to deliver his latest offer of marriage. Annie, unsurprisingly, has had enough of Hunt's indecision and tells Fred that she has no intention of accepting Hunt's proposal. Fred sees this as the perfect moment to seize his own chance of happiness, and he proposes to her himself. Annie bursts out laughing at the idea of marriage to Fred. Humiliated, Fred vows to himself to protect no one's feelings in future, and to always tell the truth, no matter how brutal. However, when he chooses the fragile Lizzie as a recipient of one of his home truths, little can he imagine the devastating consequences.

59 minutes

Last on

Mon 28 Feb 202223:00

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Credits

RoleContributor
William 'Maniac' HuntRafe Spall
Dante Gabriel RossettiAidan Turner
John MillaisSamuel Barnett
Fred WaltersSam Crane
John RuskinTom Hollander
Effie RuskinZoe Tapper
Lizzie SiddalAmy Manson
Annie MillerJennie Jacques
Mr SiddalIan Puleston-Davies
Mrs SiddalPolly Kemp
Charlotte SiddalJosie Farmiloe
William MorrisDyfrig Morris
Edward Burne-JonesPeter Sandys-Clarke
Fanny CornforthRebecca Davies
Jane BurdenNatalie Thomas
Rose La TouchePoppy Lee Friar
Executive ProducerHilary Salmon
Executive ProducerFranny Moyle
ProducerBen Evans
DirectorDiarmuid Lawrence
WriterPeter Bowker

Broadcasts

  • Tue 25 Aug 200921:00
  • Sun 30 Aug 200921:55
  • Tue 1 Sep 200902:00
  • Thu 1 Apr 201023:40
  • Mon 28 Feb 202223:00