Victorian VALUES

BENJAMIN WAINWRIGHT and HARRIET SLATER on starring in the sequel to a lavish period drama

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BELGRAVIA: THE NEXT CHAPTER NEW SUN, 9PM, ITV3 DRAMA (BOX SET, ITVX)

Back in 2020, ITV's Belgravia delved into a world of secrets and scandal among the Victorian elite.

Central to the period drama, which was adapted by Lord Julian Fellowes from his own novel, were the tribulations of the upwardly mobile Trenchard family, who lived in London's swankiest district.

Now, an eight-part sequel, Belgravia: The Next Chapter, executive produced by Julian but penned by Helen Edmundson (Dalgliesh), is set 30 years on, in 1871, as another generation of Trenchards faces fresh difficulties.

Brooding aristocratic bachelor Frederick Trenchard (Benjamin Wainwright) is the grandson of the late James and Anne Trenchard (who were played in the original series by Philip Glenister and Tamsin Greig). He runs several successful businesses, but remains haunted by the coldness shown to him as a child by his father Oliver (portrayed once more by Richard Goulding in flashback).

What Frederick doesn't know is that Oliver rejected him because Frederick is really the son of the villainous John Bellasis (Adam James, reprising his role), who had an affair with Oliver's wife Susan (played again by Alice Eve).