The House of Eliott

Infobox Television
show_name = The House of Eliott


caption = Series title card
genre = Costume drama
camera = Multiple
picture_format =
audio_format = Stereo
runtime = 0:50 (approx)
creator = Jean Marsh
Eileen Atkins
starring = Stella Gonet
Louise Lombard
theme_music_composer = Jim Parker
country = United Kingdom
language = English
network = BBC 1
first_aired = 31 August 1991
last_aired = 6 March 1994
num_series = 3
num_episodes = 34
imdb_id = 0101123
tv_com_id = 13256

"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".

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 [Cathy Murphy] 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

The Eliott sisters and their employee Madge are wrapping up their evidently successful visit to the United States under the sponsorship of Sears, Roebuck, which has arranged to carry a line of ready-to-wear designed by the House of Eliott. Still estranged from Jack, Bea has picked up a new beau, debonair Sears executive Donald Bradley, who follows the ladies back to England. Bea decides that she still loves Jack and settles down with him just as he is shifting his attention from film direction to investigative journalism. Through a new employee, a talented but unreliable designer named Grace Keeble, Evie meets a couple of artists, Miles Bannister and Daniel Page. Miles is hired to do illustrations for the House of Eliott and later becomes a much needed designer while Daniel is a talented artist who Evie believes only needs a break to be very successful. Both men fall for Evie but only Daniel wins out. Meanwhile, Madge discovers a new love and it is not her rather gruff husband Jerry.Tilly and her husband Norman struggle to keep their marriage together following the loss of their baby son(who was played by Emily Ryan). By the end of the season, the House of Eliott has nearly fallen apart, Bea and Jack have a daughter(who was also played by Emily Ryan), Jack wins a seat in the House of Commons, and Evie has married Daniel. Miles' father has decided to become a partner in the House of Eliott after realising his son is a talented fashion designer. He wants the House of Eliott to leave the world of haute couture and move into the safer area of ready to wear fashions. The final episode of the series ends with a heated confrontation that raises serious questions about the future of the House of Eliott and the relationship between the sisters.

Loose Ends

The writers of the House of Elliot didn't know that BBC was pulling the plug at the end of the third series and this is the reason the third series ends up in the air.

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, [ [http://open.bbc.co.uk/catalogue/infax/programme/LDSD168T "The House of Eliott" (Rec:1993-11-04 Tx:1994-02-20)] BBC Programme Catalogue] its multi-camera video production methods were being abandoned for most drama series in favour of shooting on film. [cite news|url=http://media.guardian.co.uk/site/story/0,,1987589,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=1|title= Here's one we made much, much earlier - and now it's time to move|publisher=The Guardian|first=Matt|last=Wells|date=2007-01-11|accessdate=2007-01-14] Some scenes were shot at Clifton Hill House and Goldney Hall in Bristol.

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.

The series was lampooned by comedy duo Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders in a sketch for their TV series entitled "The House of Idiot".

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 daring and glamorous socialite.

DVD release

All three series of "The House of Eliott" are available on region 1,2 and 4 DVD.

Trivia

Emily Ryan was the child star of the series; she was the youngest baby to perform on a hit UK TV show. She came to star in the third series after her father (Andrew Bullivant) was offered a minor role.

References

External links

* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/classic/houseofeliott/index.shtml "The House of Eliott"] at bbc.co.uk
*imdb title|id=0101123|title = The House of Eliott
*" [http://humanscience.wikia.com/wiki/House_of_Eliott A Detailed Analysis of House of Eliott by episode, character and event] " at " [http://humanscience.wikia.com Human Science"]