THE PURSUIT OF LOVE ARRIVES

BBC1, SUNDAY 9 MAY, 9PM

Now that Line Of Duty series six is over, it’s difficult to think of a more different show to take over BBC1’S prestigious Sunday night 9pm slot than this one. Directed and adapted by actress Emily Mortimer (Mary Poppins Returns) from the classic Nancy Mitford novel published in 1945, it’s a three-parter set largely in 1920s Oxfordshire. Young cousins Linda Radlett (Lily James) and Fanny Logan (Emily Beecham) are living in the “large, ugly, north-facing” mansion of Alconleigh, looking for love, romance and an escape from the stifling confines of their situation. And, of course, this is the show that brought Lily James together with her co-star Dominic West, who were then photographed “flirting” with each other, despite Dominic being married to actress Catherine Fitzgerald.

FROTHY JAPES

That West/james saga aside, this is a fun, frothy series, in which Mortimer uses every trick in the book to keep the drama fresh. As all TV dramas have to these days, the narrative darts about in time, opening with a brilliantly eye-catching sequence set during the Blitz in London, then flashing back to show incidents from Fanny and Linda’s youth before settling, just about, in the ’20s when the young ladies are attending parties and debutante balls. There’s clearly an intense, close bond between the women, but their relationship comes under pressure when their extraordinary neighbour Lord Merlin (Andrew Scott) brings handsome Tony Kroesig (Freddie Fox) into their lives, and Linda is instantly smitten.

OPERATIC SCENES

While the opener ticks along at a cracking pace, the whole thing comes brilliantly to life when Andrew Scott’s Lord Merlin arrives in a stunning dance sequence set to the soundtrack of T-rex’s 1977 song Dandy In The Underworld. Coming off like a David Bowie video, the scene is a gloriously camp celebration of the character’s decadence and love of life, and as you’d expect from Sherlock and Fleabag star Scott, his performance is positively operatic. And it’s more than enough reason to keep us hooked for the whole series.