It's the classic tale of passion and parental displeasure ... welcome back to The Forsyte Saga.

by David Hollingsworth, TV Times, May 2003

Never has the old saying that the course of true love never runs smooth been more apt than for the return of The Forsyte Saga. Damian Lewis (Soames), Gina McKee (Irene) and Rupert Graves (Young Jolyon) are all back for the new four-part series, which continues John Galsworthy's epic tale of the powerful Forsyte family.

The story, which attracted almost nine million viewers last year, has now moved on two decades to the Roaring Twenties, and switches its attention to the relationship between Fleur (Emma Griffiths Malin) and Jon (Lee Williams), the children born to Soames and Annette and Irene and Young Jolyon at the end of the last series.

They have no knowledge of the bitter family feud raging between Soames and his cousin Young Jolyon, which started because of their mutual love for Irene.

Soames still adores her, but Irene only married him for his money and their relationship crumbled when he raped her.

Irene left Soames for dashing young architect Philip Bosinney (Ioan Gruffudd) and they were blissfully happy until he died in a tragic accident. But to the disgust of Soames, Irene found love again with Jolyon and gave birth to a son, Jon. Soames, though, had something to celebrate when his new wife, Annette, gave birth to a girl they named Fleur.

As the children reach adulthood, they begin a passionate romance that their parents are determined to stop. "The question is can the new generation get away from the ghosts of the past?" says executive producer Sita Williams. "It's like Romeo and Juliet, really."

Sita says people who missed the first series will easily be able to pick up the story. "What's very important is that it introduces new characters," she adds. "There's more emotional variety this time, but like all love stories, there's an element of tragedy as well."

Who's Who

Soames Forsyte
(played by Damian Lewis)

Now 60, the rich layer has mellowed slightly with age and dotes on his beautiful daughter, Fleur.

Damian says: "Soames is in a loveless marriage with Annette; he's obviously still in love with Irene. Despite the bitterness that's torn him up, there's a grudging mutual respect between him and Young Jolyon because they're both still here and both still standing."

Irene Forsyte
(Gina McKee)

Irene enjoys a wonderful relationship with Young Jolyon. But as her son, Jon, gets closer to Fleur, Irene finds herself haunted by family history.

Gina says: "Irene is desperate to keep Jon and Fleur apart because of fear -- fear of her past when she was totally alone, and fear of losing Jolyon. By trying to control this situation, she turns herself and Jolyon into hypocrites."

Jolyon Forsyte
(Rupert Graves)

Old age is catching up with him, and his health worries aren't helped by his son's relationship with Fleur. The romantic hero in the first series, Jolyon is ironically now trying to stop a romance and even enlists the help of his old enemy, Soames.

Rupert says: "There are certain things Young Jolyon does now which he wouldn't have done in the first series."

Annette Forsyte
(Beatriz Batarda)

Fleur is the cause of friction between Annette and her husband, Soames. She worries that Soames is ruining their daughter by spoiling her. Then, at Fleur's 18th birthday party, unhappy Annette begins an affair with a guest, Belgian businessman Prosper Profond.

Beatriz says: "Annette's married to a man she doesn't love. However, Profond gives her hope of happiness."

Michael Mont
(Oliver Milburn)

A handsome and respectable young man who fought in World War One, he only has eyes for Fleur. His charity work impresses Soames, who'd clearly much prefer his daughter to marry a war hero than his enemy's son.

Oliver says: "Michael's pretty persistent. He makes an absolute idiot of himself most of the time, but he makes Fleur laugh and doesn't take 'no' for an answer."

The Lovers

In The Dark

Jon Enjoys an idyllic childhood, growing up under the watchful eye of his loving mother, Irene, and his artistic father, Jolyon. He seeks life's simple pleasures, but his world is turned upside-down when he meets Fleur.

"Fleur's very beautiful, and Jon's attracted by her energy," says actor Lee Williams, who plays him. "He's been raised in a very open, fun environment and Fleur fits into his idea of what someone should be like."

Initially, Jon can't see anything beyond his love for Fleur and isn't worried by all the fuss their relationship is causing. "They just think it's some silly family feud and can't understand why everyone's so against it," explains Lee. "They don't realise the seriousness of what's happened and it's only later that Jon finds out. He changes from innocent to witnessing the dark side of life."

Expect to see plenty more of Lee's face on TV. Later this year, he'll star alongside Warren Clarke and Hugo Speer in the BBC1 drama The Debt. Despite his youthful looks, Lee is, in fact, 29 and says he now wants more adult roles. "I really enjoyed doing The Forsyte Saga, but I don't want to play a virgin who's in love for the first time anymore," he says.

Fleurting With Danger!

Fleur's the ultimate daddy's girl. She knows exactly how to wrap Soames around her little finger. So, even when Fleur commits the ultimate sin in her father's eyes of falling in love with Jon, Soames still finds it hard to shout at his beautiful daughter.

"Soames doesn't want her to see Jon, but at the same time he loves her and can't really get angry at anything she does," explains 23-year-old actress Emma Griffiths Malin, who plays her.

"They've got a beautiful relationship and, to Soames, she's the only thing that's pure."

But Fleur's going to test her father's patience to the full as she delves into the murky waters of the Forsyte family history.

"The whole thing of the family feud attracts Fleur to Jon; she finds it really exciting and an act of rebellion. Fleur's that kind of girl," she says.

Emma admits that she hasn't seen the original series, which appeared on the BBC in the Sixties and in which Susan Hampshire played the role of Fleur. "The director, Andy Wilson, was pleased as he didn't want me to be influenced by it," she says.

Looking at Emma's background, her grandfather, Mark Eden, starred in Coronation Street as baddie Alan Bradley, and her step-grandfather was Dad's Army actor John Le Mesurier -- you'd have thought she'd always dreamed of being an actress. But Emma denies this. "I just kind of fell into it," she says.

Emma remembers John Le Mesurier fondly and always called him Bod, after discovering that he was the voice of the Seventies cartoon character.

Like Fleur, Emma is bubbly, boisterous and enjoying a romance. She's been dating her musician boyfriend, David, for a year and they're very happy together. "We met through a mutual friend," she coos. "David's very sweet."