Beecham House is the new drama series on ITV starring Tom Bateman, Lesley Nicol, Gregory Fitoussi, Adil Ray, Marc Warren and many more. The first episode premieres tonight (Sunday, June 23) at 9pm on ITV and the remaining five episodes will air weekly on the channel. The series was co-created, written and directed by Gurinder Chadha OBE who is best known for the film Bend It Like Beckham.
In what year is Beecham House set?
Beecham House is set in India in the year 1795.
The year 1795 is significant as India was not under British rule at the time.
However, the British Empire was expanding and so was British presence and interest in India through the British East India Company.
Director Gurinder Chadha explained: “We decided to set it at the beginning of the British Empire because that period was very interesting to me.
“It was a time when India was literally up for grabs. It was the end of the Mogul Empire and the British had a strong presence but only really as a trading company, because they were only interested in business. And France also had a presence, and Napoleon had an interest in India.
“The maharajas were very conscious that the Mogul Empire was beginning to wane. So it’s an interesting period and it also means that hopefully, we can continue over the following years of the early British Empire if we make more series.”
WHERE IS BEECHAM HOUSE FILMED? WHERE IS IT SET?
GREGORY FITOUSSI as General Castillon (Image: ITV)
Actress Dakota Blue Richards who plays Margaret in Beecham House added: “The thing I found most interesting is that it’s one of those times where you’re just on the cusp of massive change.
“Even people like John (played by Tom Bateman) and Margaret who are trying to integrate, there’s still this sense that ‘We’re English, you’re Indian, and we might be about to become enemies at any moment’.
“I think it’s also interesting because it’s a period in history where you can draw a line from there to today. So for example, you can trace the drug epidemic of today back to the East India Company.
“The fact that everybody speaks English in India goes back to these times too. I don’t think anybody in this show is victimised or shown as weak, but equally, nobody is shown to be entirely virtuous.
“It’s quite an honest portrayal of the good and the bad on both sides. We have a lot of answering to do for that period in history.”
IS BEECHAM HOUSE BASED ON A TRUE STORY?
Beecham House is set in the year 1795 (Image: ITV)
Actress Bessie Carter who plays Violet added that 18th century was a “Really awful time for most people.”
She added: “We’ve seen lots of TV shows and films set during the Raj and that period, but this is the moment before that. For people from Britain at that time, India was such a mystery and it was such a huge voyage to get there, so it was really going to a world that you knew nothing about.
“It’s between Georgian and Regency times where things were shifting back in England. I didn’t know much about that time and it was bloody depressing, doing my research. At school, you learn about playing cricket and drinking tea but when you go into detail, you learn that we were really awful and it was a really awful time for most people.”
Much of the drama takes place in and around Beecham house, which was a grand mansion built on the outskirts of Delhi for John Beecham.
WHO IS IN THE CAST OF BEECHAM HOUSE?
Beecham House is set in India before British colonial rule (Image: ITV)
John Beecham is from England and has arrived in Delhi to seek his fortune and have a fresh start at life with his baby son August.
He is a former soldier with the East India Company, who moves to Delhi determined to “make the house his safe haven.”
However, despite starting a new life and finding love again with English governess Margaret (played by Dakota Blue Richards), things take a turn for the worst.
John is suspected of being an agent for the British East India Company and to protect the people he loves, he risks losing everything.
A short synopsis from ITV reads: “Set on the cusp of the 19th Century in Delhi before the British ruled in that region, the drama depicts the fortunes of the residents of Beecham House, an imposing mansion surrounded by acres of exotic woods and pristine lawns.”
Beecham House starts tonight at 9pm on ITV