The Grand (TV series)


The Grand is a British television drama series produced by Granada Television for the ITV network, broadcast between 4 April 1997 and 3 April 1998. It was written by Russell T Davies and set in a grand hotel in Manchester in the 1920s.
There are two series: eight episodes in the first series were broadcast from 4 April 1997 to 23 May 1997 and ten in the second series from 30 January 1998 to 3 April 1998. All 18 episodes were written by Russell T Davies. The cast included Susan Hampshire, Julia St. John, Tim Healy, Michael Siberry, Stephen Moyer and Mark McGann.
The two series were novelised by Catrin Collier, under the pen name Katherine Hardy.

Characters

The series featured the Bannerman family that owned and ran the hotel, the staff that lived in the basement and occasional guests.
At the series opening, the very upright John Bannerman has just reopened the Grand, which he inherited from his overbearing father and which he now owns and operates with his staid and steady wife, Sarah. On opening night of the new, refurbished Grand, their son, Stephen returns from service in World War I. Initially a happy occasion, it soon becomes apparent that Stephen is a damaged young man who hides his pain in alcohol. Their daughter, Adele, a young teenager, feels ignored and finds more in common with the staff than she does her own family. After an unfortunate series of events puts the Grand in financial jeopardy, John's younger brother, Marcus, a very intelligent but seemingly heartless businessman with shady connections to the underworld, offers to save the day by becoming a partner in the hotel—but are his motivations genuine, or does he have an ulterior motive? Also featured are John's stuffy mother, Mary, and Marcus' "lady friend," the beautiful Ruth Manning who appears to be every bit Marcus' equal when it comes to cold-hearted calculation.
Jacob Collins is the all-seeing hall porter, seemingly in total control, yet plagued by demons of his own. Mrs Harvey is the housekeeper who rules over the chambermaids with the iron hand of a prison guard. The most level headed of the chambermaids is the lovely Kate Morris, who fights to convince herself and others that everyone has their place. Another chambermaid, the lively, likable, but unsatisfied and eternally in trouble Monica Jones is Kate's polar opposite. Lynn Milligan, Brenda Potter, Monica Jones play the other chambermaids. The ready-steady footman/bartender is Clive. Guests that featured in the series were Miss Esme Harkness,
a madame and semi-retired prostitute, who takes Monica under her wing; James Cornell ; Maggie Rigby ; a troublemaking school friend of Adele's, and her father, Lawrence, John Middleton.

Books

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