Maîtres et valets: The Ladybird

SYNOPSIS

The air is heady with opulence as we join the London Season at its height in June 1936. Life at 165 Eaton Place is all diamondencrusted decadence, though there are rumblings of trouble in far-off lands, as Heidi Thomas's chirpy updating of the TV classic continues. Sir Hallam Holland (Ed Stoppard) finds his work is affected by Mussolini's annexation of Abyssinia, while a new parlour maid, Rachel Perlmutter, arrives as a refugee from Germany. But even closer to home, and much more disturbing, is the flighty Lady Persie's flirtation with fascism that leads her into a very dangerous liaison. Ends tomorrow. Radio Times reviewer - Alison Graham