Subtitled “Scenes from an Elizabethan Life”, this BBC series – written by Alison Plowden – related the story of Elizabeth (Hilary Mason), known as Bess of Hardwick, a notable and influential figure in Elizabethan English society.
Thanks to a series of well-made marriages, Bess rose to the highest levels of English nobility and became enormously wealthy. She was also a shrewd businesswoman, increasing her assets with business interests, including mines and glass-making workshops.
Location filming took place at Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire.
The series won the Writers’ Guild Award for Best Educational Television Series.
Bess
Hilary Mason Narrator
Gary Watson Arbella
Anna Cropper Earl of Shrewsbury
Preston Lockwood Priest
Peter Gale Mary Queen of Scots
Gilly McIver Sir Henry Brounker
John Humphry Sir William Cavendish
Barrie Cookson Chaplain
David Ashford Lutenist
Michael Jessett Henry Cavendish
Cyril Varley Elizabeth Cavendish
Clover Roope Charles Stuart
Graeme Edler Dorothy Stafford
Elizabeth Benson Dodderidge
Eric Francis Eleanor Britton
Sheila Dunn Robert Barlow
Robert Barry
Episodes
They Expect a New Queen | Honest Sweet Chatsworth | Dangerous Alliance | My Jewel Arbella | The Shrewsbury Scandal | An Insatiable Dream | Cousin to King James | This Costly Countess | Royal Prisoner | When Hardwick Towers Shall Bow Their Heads
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