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The House of Eliott is a British television series produced and broadcast by the BBC in three series between 1991 and 1994. The series starred Stella Gonet and Louise Lombard as two sisters who start a dressmaking business. It was created by Jean Marsh and Eileen Atkins, who had previously devised Upstairs, Downstairs. Image File history File links Acap. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... A costume drama is a period piece in which elaborate costumes, sets and properties are featured in order to capture the ambience of a particular era. ... Jean Lyndsay Torren Marsh (born 1 July 1934) is a Golden Globe-nominated English actress and writer, who is best known for co-creating the British period drama Upstairs, Downstairs with Eileen Atkins. ... Dame Eileen June Atkins, DBE (born June 16, 1934 in London, England) is a British writer and an award-winning film and theatre actress. ... Stella Gonet (born 8 May 1963 in Greenock, Scotland) is a Scottish actress who is best known for playing Bea in the television series The House Of Eliott. ... Louise Lombard Louise Lombard (born 13 September 1971) is a British actress. ... Jim Parker (1934-), who has won the British Academy Award for Best Original Television Music four times, has written scores for over one hundred programmes and is one of Britains most successful and versatile composers. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which began in 1932. ... BBC One (or BBC1 as it was formerly styled) is the oldest United Kingdom, and indeed, the world. ... The aspect ratio of an image is its displayed width divided by its height (usually expressed as x:y or x×y, with the joining colon or multiplication symbol articulated as the preposition by or sometimes to). Currently, the most popular standard ratios are the anamorphic (2. ... is the 243rd day of the year (244th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the 1991 Gregorian calendar). ... is the 65th day of the year (66th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1994 Gregorian calendar). ... A television program is the content of television broadcasting. ... The British Broadcasting Corporation, which is usually known as the BBC, is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world in terms of audience numbers, employing 26,000 staff in the United Kingdom alone and with a budget of more than GB£4 billion. ... This is a list of television-related events in 1991. ... The year 1994 in television involved some significant events. ... Stella Gonet (born 8 May 1963 in Greenock, Scotland) is a Scottish actress who is best known for playing Bea in the television series The House Of Eliott. ... Louise Lombard Louise Lombard (born 13 September 1971) is a British actress. ... For other uses see Dressmaker (disambiguation) A dressmaker is a person who makes custom clothing for women, such as dresses, blouses, and evening gowns. ... Jean Lyndsay Torren Marsh (born 1 July 1934) is a Golden Globe-nominated English actress and writer, who is best known for co-creating the British period drama Upstairs, Downstairs with Eileen Atkins. ... Dame Eileen June Atkins, DBE (born June 16, 1934 in London, England) is a British writer and an award-winning film and theatre actress. ... Upstairs, Downstairs was a BAFTA and Emmy award-winning British drama set in a large townhouse in Edwardian London that depicted the lives of the servants downstairs and their masters upstairs. It ran on ITV for five series from 1971 to 1975. ...

Plot

Series One

In series one Beatrice (30) and Evangeline Eliott (18, known as Evie) are left orphans by the sudden death of their tyrannical father, Henry Elliot. Left almost destitute and without any education, the sisters are forced to sell the family home to cover their father's debts. To earn money, they make use of their passion for dressmaking and Bea gets a job as secretary at a local photography studio run by Jack Maddox. Jack and his sister Penelope become firm friends of the sisters and Jack provides them with the funds to open their own London based dressmaking business "The House of Eliott". Through their relationship with Penelope Maddox, the sisters meet the loyal and hardworking seamstress Tilly Watkins whom they employ. A consistent theme throughout the series is the struggle of women in the 1920's to live fulfilling and independent lives. Not only does Henry Elliot leave his daughters penniless and uneducated, but their cousin Arthur, who is executor of their father's estate, and Evie's legal guardian, keeps a rightful inheritance from the girls "for their own good". After Arthur's arrest and imprisonment for involvement in drug smuggling he emigrates to Boston, USA, releasing a large amount of cash owed to the sisters from their father's estate. This allows Beatrice and Evie to expand the business and by the end of series one, with the help of Evie's godfather, banker Sir Desmond Gillespie, the future looks good. Evie celebrates her twenty-first birthday and is made a partner in the firm. The House of Elliot releases its first independent fashion collection and is creating exclusive designs for the aristocracy.

Series Two

In series two Beatrice and Evie are invited to Paris by fashion designer Gilles Caragnac, who offers them a 5 year contract as designers for his label. While there Bea marries her former employer and friend, Jack Maddox and they move back to London, leaving Evie alone in Paris to work at the fashion house "Maison Gilles". After a year and an affair with Gilles Caragnac, a new glamorous and grown up Evie returns to work as the designer for the house of Eliott. Jack's career as a movie director is on the rise and at a showing of one of his films, Evie meets Lord Alexander Montford, a married member of Parliament, with whom she begins an affair. This causes complications throughout the series. Jack and Beatrice separate due to their inability to agree about whether to have children and the pressure of work. The House of Eliott faces ruin after the suspicious death of Sir Desmond Gillespie causes the firm's financial affairs to be taken over by Sir Ralph Saroyan. The sisters suspect Saroyan of dishonesty and through their contact with Sir Alexander Montford, cause the bank to be officially investigated. It is discovered that Saroyan is defrauding most of the customers of the bank and the Elliot sisters are left with very little of their original savings and investments.

Jack has a huge success with his movie "The Strikers" and is offered work in the US by a Hollywood producer, but he turns it down and decides to work in Berlin instead. Meanwhile, as the market for couture gowns wanes in the depression of the late 1920s, Beatrice and Evangeline are offered a tour of America showing their new ready-to-wear designs for the department store Sears Roebuck. Bea still has feelings for Jack. Back at the fashion house, after a crisis of confidence Tilly marries Norman Foss, a young chef in a local hotel, and has been reinstated as head of the workroom. She announces her pregnancy in the last episode of the series.

Series Three

In series three Bea and Jack are reunited and become parents to their daughter Lucy. Meanwhile, Evie has a romantic liaison with artist Daniel Page before they get married.

Production

The House of Eliott is believed to be the last major BBC drama series to be shot at BBC Television Centre — by the time the series came to an end in 1994,^[1] its multi-camera video production methods were being abandoned for most drama series in favour of shooting on film.^[2] Some scenes were shot at Clifton Hill House and Goldney Hall in Bristol. BBC Television Centre (sometimes abbreviated TVC or TC) in London is home to much of the BBCs television output and, since 1998, almost all of the corporations national TV and radio news output by BBC News. ... The multiple-camera setup (aka, multiple-camera mode of production) is a method of shooting films and television programs. ... “Moving picture” redirects here. ... Clifton Hill House (grid reference ST571737) is a grade I listed[1] Palladian villa in the Clifton area of Bristol, England which is now used as a hall of residence by the University of Bristol. ... Goldney Hall is one of the three halls of residence in Clifton, Bristol providing accommodation for students at the University of Bristol. ... This article is about the English city. ...

The exterior of the house is situated at 24 Berkeley Square, Bristol. Holes made by the 'House of Eliott' sign still remain on the wall to the left of the front door. The house is now occupied by Taylor and Taylor Advertising and Leaman Brown, a group of international patent attorneys. Berkeley Square is close to Park Street in the Clifton area of Bristol. ...

The series was lampooned by comedy duo Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders in a sketch for their TV series entitled "The House of Idiot". Dawn Roma French[1] (born 11 October 1957) is a BAFTA Award-nominated British comedian and actress best known for starring in her comedy sketch show French & Saunders along with her comedy partner Jennifer Saunders, and for playing the lead role in The Vicar of Dibley as Geraldine Granger. ... Jennifer Jane Saunders (born 12 July 1958) is a BAFTA Award-winning English comedienne, actress, and comedy writer. ...

In the first series, Louise Lombard was nicknamed "the mouse of Eliott" due to the drab clothes her young and supposedly fashion obsessed character was dressed in. This was put right in series two when Evie returned from Paris as a darling and glamorous socialite. This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

DVD release

All three series of The House of Eliott are available on region 1 and 2 DVD.

References

The Guardian is a British newspaper owned by the Guardian Media Group. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 11th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 14th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• The House of Eliott at BBC Cult Classic TV
• The House of Eliott at the Internet Movie Database