POP’S SIDEBURNS ARE ABITROCK’N’ROLL

While following the styles of the period, the series never makes characters slaves to fashion. ‘Pop is a bit of a dandy,’ says hair and make-up designer Jill Stansfield. ‘He’s smart, he’s landed gentry in his own head. Men’s hair would have had Brylcreem in it but he had his own look with a little quiff at the front. We grew his sideburns [right], which is a bit rock’n’roll. He tries to ingratiate himself with the locals but is rebellious too.’

As Ma, Joanna Scanlan wears the only wig of the series. ‘I wanted her hair to look sexy, curly, soft, a bit Marilyn Monroe – hair that would fall over her face when she’s plucking a goose,’ says Jill. ‘Her own hair doesn’t keep a curl in the damp so I had a wig made for her, with each hair put in by hand. Fitting it involved pinning her hair close to her head and putting clingfilm on it, then the wigmaker drew around her hairline. We called the wig Florence as it seemed to have a life of its own. At the end of the day we’d set the wig in curlers, and if she was back to a scene plucking birds the next day we’d put little feathers in it.’ Sabrina Bartlett, playing Mariette, has ‘the most magnificent hair, which was well-behaved whateverwe did to it’, says Jill. ‘We cut layers in so it looked voluminous when we curled it. Mariette is a natural beauty so we used an airbrush machine that sprays foundation on and gave her a dewy look. She wore eyeliner with a 50s flick for going out. Fake lashes were only for parties and then just applied to the corners, and a vibrant red lipstick finished the look.’