Posh and ginger, Dreamcatcher sees the rising Brit star turn scary ...

by Richard Arnold, Ulster TV Quick, May 2003

This week, The Forsyte Saga returns to ITV with the next generation of the family taking centre stage. Soames' daughter Fleur falls for Irene's son Jon, blissfully unaware of the feud that has divided their families.

Damian Lewis returns as the hideous Soames, embittered by decades of acrimony between his family and his ex-wife Irene.

Viewers may remember that last time around Gina McKee's Irene was such a cold fish that even Soames, the chilling villain of the piece, won sympathy from the audience. Mind you, that's probably more a tribute to Damian's complex portrayal rather than anything else.

British audiences should make the most of our home-grown boy over the next few weeks. Ever since he starred in Steven Spielberg's Band Of Brothers, he has been feted by Hollywood bigwigs. Admittedly, his big-screen appearance in Stephen King's Dreamcatcher didn't exactly have the punters queueing up at the box office, but his next project looks more promising. He's starring alongside J-Lo, Morgan Freeman and Robert Redford in An Unfinished Life and is rumoured to have signed up for a Martin Scorsese tale about war brides.

This chapter of The Forsyte Saga is as lavish as they come and paints a compelling view of life in early 20th-century London. But to be honest, Soames looks doomed from the outset as he and the older members of the Forsyte clan lumber towards extinction in an increasingly modern age. So it's probably a good thing that Damian has other plans!

Caption: Will Soames resolve his differences with first wife Irene?

Caption: The next generation ... Soames' daughter Fleur with Jolyon and Irene's son Jon.