The series was a joint production of the BBC and WGBH Boston, an American public broadcast station and 'won high audience ratings' when it first screened in the UK in 1999. Its audience rivalry with an adaptation of Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist, screened on ITV at the same time, was dubbed 'the battle of the bonnets'.[1][2] It appeared in the USA on BBC America in August 2000 and was later shown on PBS.[1]
It focuses on Molly Gibson (Justine Waddell), the daughter of the town doctor and the changes that occur in her life after her widowed father chooses to remarry. The union brings into her once-quiet life an ever-proper stepmother (Francesca Annis) who is 'too vain and shallow to care for anything beyond her improved social status'.[3] Also a flirtatious stepsister, Cynthia (Keeley Hawes), while a friendship with the local squire brings about an unexpected romance.[1]ANew York Times review of the series in 2001 said 'The entire cast gets the characters right.'[4]
Dyrham Park house where some of the exterior scenes were filmed
Davies and Birtwistle collaborated on the BBC's television popular adaptationofJane Austen's Pride and Prejudice in 1995. Following that success the BBC 'effectively told the duo they could adapt any book they wished', leading to Wives and Daughters. Birtwhistle described Gaskell's novel as 'strong, direct and passionate' and this offered 'the necessary elements for a popular classic TV drama'.[1]
At the 2000 British Academy Television Awards, the series was nominated for seven awards and won four including Best Actor (Television) for Michael Gambon as Squire Hamley.[9] Gambon's performance was described as: 'Gruff on the outside, with a huge sentimental streak, the country squire is a familiar type, but he makes him seem endearing and fresh.'[4]
