Belgravia (TV series)

Belgravia is a British Regency and Victorian-era historical drama television series, set in the 19th century, based on the 2016 novel of the same name by Julian Fellowes—both named after Belgravia, an affluent district of London. The limited series, a co-production between Carnival Films and American cable network Epix, is adapted by Fellowes from his novel, and reunites the production team behind Downton Abbey with Gareth Neame and Nigel Marchant executive producing alongside Liz Trubridge and Fellowes. Belgravia is directed by John Alexander, and produced by Colin Wratten.^[1]

Belgravia
Genre	Historical drama
Based on	Belgravia by Julian Fellowes
Written by	Julian Fellowes
Directed by	John Alexander
Composer	John Lunn
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	1
No. of episodes	6
Production
Executive producers	Gareth Neame Nigel Marchant Liz Trubridge Vrushank Velhankar
Producer	Colin Wratten
Running time	Approx 45mins
Production company	Carnival Films
Original release
Network	ITV (UK) Epix (U.S.)
Release	15 March – 19 April 2020
Related
Belgravia: The Next Chapter

The series premiered in the UK on ITV on 15 March 2020 and in the U.S. on 12 April 2020 on Epix.^[2][3][4] A follow-up series, Belgravia: The Next Chapter, to be written and developed by Helen Edmundson was announced in September 2022.^[5]

Belgravia begins at the Duchess of Richmond's ball (an actual event held the night of 15/16 June 1815), which was held in Brussels for the Duke of Wellington on the eve of the Battle of Quatre Bras, two days before the Battle of Waterloo. Among the guests are James and Anne Trenchard, who are living on the profits of newfound trading success. Their young daughter Sophia has caught the eye of Edmund Bellasis, the son and heir of one of the richest and most prominent families in England. Twenty-six years later in 1841, when the two families are settled into the newly developed area of Belgravia, the events of the ball, and the secrets, still resonate.^[6]

The Cast:^[7]

The Trenchard family

• Philip Glenister as James Trenchard
• Tamsin Greig as Anne Trenchard
• Richard Goulding as Oliver Trenchard, son of James and Anne
• Emily Reid as Sophia Trenchard, daughter of James and Anne
• Alice Eve as Susan Trenchard, wife of Oliver

The Trenchard servants

• Paul Ritter as Turton, butler to the Trenchards
• Saskia Reeves as Ellis, lady's maid to Anne Trenchard
• Bronagh Gallagher as Speer, lady's maid to Susan Trenchard

The Bellasis family

• Tom Wilkinson as Peregrine Bellasis, Earl of Brockenhurst
• Harriet Walter as Caroline Bellasis, Countess of Brockenhurst
• Jeremy Neumark Jones as Edmund, Viscount Bellasis, only son of the Earl and Countess of Brockenhurst and heir apparent to the title
• James Fleet as Reverend Stephen Bellasis, younger brother of the Earl of Brockenhurst.
• Diana Hardcastle as Grace Bellasis, wife of Stephen Bellasis
• Adam James as John Bellasis, son of Stephen Bellasis and Grace Bellasis and heir to his father

The Grey family

• Tara Fitzgerald as Corinne Grey, Dowager Countess of Templemore
• Ella Purnell as Lady Maria Grey, daughter of the Dowager Countess of Templemore

The Pope family

• Serena Evans as Mrs Pope, foster mother to Charles Pope
• Jack Bardoe as Charles Pope, raised as no one special but in reality grandson of James Trenchard and Peregrine Bellasis, and thereby, heir to the Earl of Brockenhurst

Characters at the Duchess of Richmond's ball

• Nicholas Rowe as Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington
• James Chalmers as Sir William Ponsonby
• Gunnar de Jong as the Prince of Orange
• Diana Kent as the Duchess of Richmond
• Robert Portal as the Duke of Richmond

Miscellaneous

• Naomi Frederick as the Duchess of Bedford
• Penny Layden as Mrs Babbage
• Jack Shalloo as Morris
• Nigel Allen as Robert
• Stevee Davies as Brodsworth

On 14 January 2019, it was announced that ITV had given a series order consisting of six episodes to a television adaptation of Julian Fellowes' 2016 novel Belgravia. The series was expected to be written by Fellowes and directed by John Alexander. Executive producers were set to include Gareth Neame, Nigel Marchant, and Liz Trubridge with Colin Wratten serving as a producer. Production companies involved with the series were slated to consist of Carnival Films.^[6][9] On 8 February 2019, it was reported that American premium cable network Epix had joined the production as a co-producer.^[10][11]

Principal photography took place in the summer of 2019. Many of the exteriors were shot in Edinburgh, with parts of the New Town standing in for Belgravia. Other locations included Edinburgh City Chambers and Hopetoun House.^[12]

The scenes that take place in Brussels were filmed at Hopetoun House in West Lothian, Wrest Park in Bedfordshire (chapel scenes) and the Bath Assembly Hall (ballroom scenes). The exterior of the Trenchard townhouse were filmed on Moray Place, in Edinburgh; most of the interiors were filmed at a mansion in Berwickshire, and also at a mansion in Basildon Park and Syon House in London. Some scenes take place at the Duchess of Bedford’s London townhouse; those were filmed in West Wycombe House in Buckinghamshire. Anne Trenchard's manor house is fictional, so filming was done at the manor house Loseley Park, in Guildford.^[13]

The production visited The Historic Chatham Dockyard and filmed on Anchor Wharf quayside, the Tarred Yarn Store as Pimm’s Chop House and the streets around the Ropery to stand in for both a London market and the streets around Girton’s Mill.^[14] Other shooting locations included the gardens at Hampton Court Palace, the Athenaeum Club in London, and Quarry Bank Mill in Cheshire.^[13]

• Belgravia at IMDb