A WILD RIDE IN STORE

The eight Bridgerton books were written by Julia Quinn, an American Jane Austen superfan, and this first TV series, based on the first book The Duke & I, is produced by Shonda Rhimes, the woman behind Grey’s Anatomy. It’s set in a heightened version of the Regency world, where the colours are vivid, the clothes exquisite and the balls lavish.

‘I set out to make a period show I wanted to see,’ says screenwriter Chris Van Dusen. ‘The Regency period was a time of decadence and we sought to reimagine it in a way that hasn’t been seen before. It’s sexy and dangerous – a very wild ride.’