Berkeley Square

Berkeley Square
by Lesley Manning, Richard Signy

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Movie Reviews of Berkeley Square

Movie Review: A Splendid British Period Drama!
Summary: 5 Stars

The series covers the lives of three young nannies and the families for whom they work--all of whom are situated in Berkeley Square. Firstly, there is pretty but prim, proper and straight-laced young Matty Wickham, the new nanny for Tom and Harriet, the children of the St. John family (pronounced SINjin). However, all is not domestic bliss in the household, as Mrs. St. John (Hermione Norris--Cold Feet's Karen) is busily engaged in an adulterous affair with dashing Captain Mason (who also happens to have an eye on Isabel, the beautiful but empty-headed young niece of the Hutchinson family).

The head nanny to the children of the Hutchinsons (consisting of young Bertie and his baby brother Charlie) is cold, nosy, unkindly Nanny Simmons. Her new assistant is a beautiful young Irish woman named Hannah Randall (Victoria Smurfit--Ballykissangel's Orla), a woman whose secrets include an illegitimate baby of her own. Luck (with a little less-than-honest assistance from Hannah!) has landed her the position, but can she keep it under the ever-watchful eye of Nanny Simmons?

Finally, there is the Lamson-Scribener family, consisting of the Earl, his young American second-wife and their baby, Ivo, who is the charge of elderly, carmudgeonly, no-nonsense Nanny Collins. Collins' new assistant is a naive-but-good-hearted country girl named Lydia Weston, the daughter of tenant farmers on the Lamson-Scribeners' country estate. Lydia's newfound life is threatened, however, when the Earl's adult son Hugh arrives home.

This is an absolutely splendid, thoroughly captivating period drama with plenty of tension and suspense. However, because the story deals with three households and the interplay between them, it is a little more challenging initially to keep track of who is in the employment of whom! As a result, I recommend not having a break of more than a couple of days at most between episodes. (Believe me, you'll find it difficult waiting for the next episode anyway!).

The series consists of ten 50-minute episodes, and although the last episode does serve to wrap up each of the stories, we are left with a few kernels which were likely designed to serve as a springboard for a further series of episodes, had one been commissioned. I know I'm not alone in hoping the BBC will someday revive this series (they've done so with many others in the past).

In conclusion, I highly recommend this series to all fans of British period productions. Frankly, though, I don't think a penchant for period productions is prerequisite to enjoying this series. If you're looking for a good, clean, captivating dramatic series (of any era), you may want to consider checking this one out.

Summary of Berkeley Square