Glamour, intrigue, aristocrats... it’s perfect escapism!

If you were a fan of Downton Abbey and you enjoyed The White Lotus, trust me: you’re in for a treat with this. First broadcast on Britbox and now on ITV1, it’s pure escapism, liberally doused in glamour and served with a generous side order of intrigue.

All the elements of a good period drama are here: the casual arrogance and cruelty of the British aristocracy, unrequited love, marital strife – only instead of being set in a gloomy stately home on some rain-lashed moor, the action takes place on the Italian Riviera.

It’s all dappled sunlight and ochre-tinged palazzos, cool marble floors and leafy terrazzas. Everyone is absurdly beautiful, the men fabulous in pale linen, the women elegant in flowing 1920s

I was looking forward to a bit of harmless window-shopping on the world of luxury travel, but was so bored by World’s Most Secret Hotels (Sunday, Channel 4) that I barely managed ten minutes. I have no idea why someone at Channel 4 sanctioned this show, but they need their head examining. It was about as interesting and insightful as one of those advertorials you used to be forced to watch in hotels, the TV equivalent of an in-flight magazine. Sure, the hotels were unique – a five-star tent in the jungle, a cave in Italy – but it was little more than an extended brochure for the owners and developers. cocktail frocks. Italy looks like a dream (one wonders whether this, together with season two of The White Lotus, might have been secretly sponsored by the Italian tourist board). But there’s trouble in paradise.

Natascha Mcelhone is Bella Ainsworth, owner of the hotel. She’s a woman of gentle sensibilities, which is unfortunate as her husband, Cecil (Mark Umbers), is a thorough cad. We see her in one scene with blood on her face and a gash on her cheek, with flashbacks to him beating her. He’s also conducting some nefarious business involving a stolen Rubens and a corrupt local politician.

Their son, the exquisitely handsome Lucian (Oliver Dench, Dame Judi’s great-nephew), is the antith

Everyone is absurdly beautiful and Italy looks like a dream

esis of his father, a sensitive dreamer (he paints) scarred by his wartime experiences, in love with one of the staff, Constance. He spends quite a lot of time sketching her adoringly while his best friend, young Dr Anish (Assad Zaman), stares adoringly at him.

Meanwhile his sister Alice, a frightful snob, does her best to make Constance’s life unbearable. Not that it matters, since poor Lucian is obliged to propose to Rose (Claude Scottmitchell), the daughter of his father’s friend (and lover), for financial reasons. They don’t really care for each other, but Cecil is having none of it. ‘Most young men with a drop of blood in their veins would be chomping at the bit, not mooning around worrying about emotions,’ he tells his son.

Anna Chancellor does a fabulous

turn as the equivalent of Downton’s Dowager Countess, all old-fashioned corsets and antediluvian attitude, and there’s a great cast of Italian actors, including Daniele Pecci as charming Count Carlo Albani, who has designs on Alice. And yes, it is derivative, but there’s enough good writing, rich characterisation and talent among the excellent cast to keep the viewer engaged. Perfect escapism.

Bella (Natascha Mcelhone) and Cecil (Mark Umbers)