Original Air Date: From October 26, 2008 To December 11, 2008 (UK)
Studio: BBC1
Directors: Adam Smith, Dearbhla Walsh, Diarmuid Lawrence
Screenwriter: Andrew Davies (screenplay), Charles Dickens (novel)
Starring: Claire Foy, Matthew Macfadyen, Tom Courtenay, Alun Armstrong, Judy Parfitt, Eddie Marsan, Andy Serkis, Russell Tovey, Freema Agyeman
Genre: Drama
MPAA Rating: Not Available
Plot Outline:
This timeless rags to riches story concerns the vacillating fortunes of the Dorrit family. The kind-hearted Amy (Claire Foy), the Little Dorrit of the title, looks after her proud father, William (Tom Courtenay – The Golden Compass) who is a long-term inmate of Marshalsea debtors’ prison in London.
But their fate is transformed by the unexpected arrival from overseas of the benevolent Arthur Clennam (Matthew Macfadyen – Spooks), who is determined to solve the mystery of his father’s dying words, “Put it right, Arthur.” He is sure this phrase is in some way connected to the Dorrits’ plight and sets about rectifying the situation – discovering they are sitting on a huge fortune, a fact which thrusts the family into the upper echelons of society.
As the Dorrits meet a variety of characters from rich to poor, a deep bond grows between Arthur and Amy, and a dark villain Rigaud (Andy Serkis) threatens to spill a long-held family secret.
Andrew Davies (Bleak House, Pride and Prejudice) was delighted to be given the chance to get his hands on this perhaps neglected Charles Dickens epic and turn it into a compelling 14-part serial for the BBC. “It’s a beautifully constructed novel,” Davies enthuses. “There is a huge reversal in the middle where the story is turned on its head in a really convincing way. It’s about reversals of fortune and how characters cope with poverty and wealth.”
Claire’s Role:
Amy, otherwise known as Little Dorrit, lives in the Marshalsea Prison with her father, William, who is the prison’s longest serving inmate. Although born and bred in the prison, Amy is far from being downtrodden and has grown up to be a gentle and kind-hearted yet enterprising and spirited young woman.
Claire Foy: “She’s kind, giving, sweet, virginal, something of a Samaritan and a devout believer in the truth. Dickens wrote her as a bit of an angel, but I’ve tried to keep her real; she gets fed up with her dad, but has this capacity for seeing beyond people’s behaviour and focusing on the goodness underneath. In terms of love, I think she’s confused that, while fond of John Chivery, the young jailer, she doesn’t feel romantically drawn to him. She doesn’t realise what love is until she’s about to lose it, which is maybe why her thing with Arthur Clennam is about the slowest-burn relationship of all time!”
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