A Woman of Substance

Costume drama for people who want a soap with its sleeves rolled up: big speeches, steamy romance and a heroine who never stops scheming. Jessica Reynolds plays young Emma as all nerve, and Brenda Blethyn makes the older one weary and hard, brushing off a journalist who climbs into her limo as a wasp at the picnic. Expect little humour.

The story jumps between 1911 and later decades, and the pace is brisk and plot-heavy, so keep the first two episodes in one sitting.