logo
#

Latest news with #LoveinaColdClimate

Outrageous review: This mediocre Mitford tale fails to tell us what was so Outrageous
Outrageous review: This mediocre Mitford tale fails to tell us what was so Outrageous

Scotsman

time27-06-2025

  • Entertainment
  • Scotsman

Outrageous review: This mediocre Mitford tale fails to tell us what was so Outrageous

The lives of the aristocracy during that golden period between the wars seems to fascinate TV programme makers – all the shooting parties, the balls and the flirtation with fascism exerts a strange fascination. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Watching Outrageous (U&Drama, Thurs, 9pm), however, you can't really see why. It's the story of the Mitford sisters, the famous – or infamous – sibling sorority that apparently took London society and the landed gentry by storm during the 1930s. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Each of the six sisters had some sort of celebrity: Nancy was a novelist, famed for The Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate; Diana was a famed beauty who left her fabulously wealthy husband for the country's leading far-right demagogue Oswald Mosley; Pamela was a noted horsewoman and fond of driving sports cars; Unity fell in love with Adolf Hitler; Jessica became a communist and ran off with her cousin; and Deborah became the Duchess of Devonshire and chatelaine of Chatsworth House. The cast of Outrageous, the new drama which tells the story of the infamous Mitford sisters (Picture: UKTV) Each had a notably picaresque life – even by the standards of the bohemian aristos of the time – with scandalous divorces, trips to the Nuremberg rallies, castles in Ireland and elopements to Spain – but very little of this comes across in Outrageous. In fact, the most outrageous thing they seem to do is lounge about in silk kimonos and headscarves in the middle of the day. We're supposed to care about these privileged creatures, but we're given precious little reason to. None seem particularly charismatic, especially given dialogue which attempts to cram in great chunks of exposition and quick character sketches as we meet yet another arrogant posho. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad And why should we care about them, especially Diana and Unity, who didn't so much flirt with fascism as take it to bed for a night of passion. Joanna Vanderham plays Diana Mitford in the new series Outrageous, which airs on U&Drama on Thursdays (Picture: UKTV) At times, the programme attempts to give some reason for their lurch to the far right, such as widespread economic hardship and industrial unrest, but that rarely impinges on to the sisters' lives beyond a few banners in passing. Diana is supposed to be infatuated with Mosley, but he comes across as a boring blowhard no one in their right mind would fancy, while Unity's obsession with Hitler is painted as a teenage crush. I mean, these people weren't merely outrageous, they were just horrible anti-semites. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad There is a charitable reading of all this putative outrageousness – that the sisters were kicking against the limited future societal norms had planned for them, as daughters of hard-up minor aristocracy. Nancy Mitford (Bessie Carter) contemplates life in bohemian 1930s London in the new U&Drama series Outrageous (Picture: UKTV) Their mother, 'Muv' (Anna Chancellor) tells warring sisters Jessica and Unity: 'Can't you see that if you don't start behaving properly you're going to end up as penniless old maids? 'You need to start thinking of yourselves as women. As wives and housekeepers, as mothers. These are incredibly important roles. Roles you were made for. I guess faced with those constrictions, anyone with a modicum of gumption would attempt to kick over the traces. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad But when financial hardship means 'letting out the London house', but still having a pied a terre in the capital, when no one seems to need a job, when you can live in varying degrees of bohemian luxury, rebellion seems unnecessary. And far from taking a stand for women, these sisters seem unhealthily defined by the men in their lives – Diana by Mosley, Unity by Hitler, even firebrand Nancy moons over some weak-chinned deadbeat called Hamish, and Outrageous can offer no earthly reason for it. If you didn't constantly refer to the internet, the average viewer – including me – would have very little clue why the Mitford clan should be so celebrated. Far from being Outrageous, this latest ode to aristocracy is mediocre and, frankly, infuriating.

Who were the Mitford sisters? The unbelievable true story behind Outrageous
Who were the Mitford sisters? The unbelievable true story behind Outrageous

Cosmopolitan

time17-06-2025

  • Entertainment
  • Cosmopolitan

Who were the Mitford sisters? The unbelievable true story behind Outrageous

You've probably seen lots of people talking about the new drama series outrageous airing this week. Coming to UKTV's in the UK and BritBox in North America, the TV series tells the story of six different sisters in the 1930s, who refused to play by the rules, often resulting in betrayal, scandal, heartache, and even imprisonment. It stars Bridgerton's Bessie Carter as Nancy Mitford, the eldest of the Mitford siblings, Anna Chancellor as matriarch Sydney Bowles Mitford, James Purefoy as David Freeman-Mitford, and Joanna Vanderham as Diana Mitford, and is based on the very real, and often controversial Mitford family. During the 1930s, the six sisters attracted widespread attention for their fashionable and provocative lifestyles, as well as for their public political divisions between communism and fascism. So, who exactly were the Mitford family? Read on for everything you need to know as Outrageous airs. The Mitford family is an aristocratic British family, who became particularly well known during the 1930s due to the six Mitford sisters - daughters of David Freeman-Mitford, 2nd Baron Redesdale, and his wife, Sydney Bowles whom he married in 1904. Sydney was the daughter of publisher and politician Thomas Gibson Bowles, and David was the second son of Bertram, Lord Redesdale. The couple had seven children - six girls and one boy - and their family homes were Asthall Manor and Swinbrook in Oxfordshire. Played by: Bessie Carter Born 28th November 1904, Nancy was the oldest of the Mitford children. She was a writer and a keen eye observer of the upper class. She married Peter Rodd, whom she subsequently divorced, and had a longstanding relationship with French politician and statesman Gaston Palewski. Her work includes semi-biographical novels The Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate. Played by: Isobel Jesper Jones Dubbed 'woman' by her siblings, Pamela Mitford (born in 1907), married and later divorced millionaire physicist Derek Jackson. Unlike her sisters, she preferred the countryside, and spent most of the 1960s in the stables of Italy, living with the horsewoman Giuditta Tommasi. Played by: Joanna Vanderham Possibly the most scandalous of the Mitford pack, Diana (born in 1910), married aristocrat and writer Bryan Guinness, 2nd Baron Moyne, in 1929. In 1933, she left him for British fascist leader Oswald Mosley, whom she married in 1936. Together, they had two sons, Alexander and Max Mosley. The couple was interned at Holloway Prison from May 1940 until November 1943. Played by: Shannon Watson Known as 'Bobo' or 'Boud' by her siblings, Unity's friendship with Adolf Hitler was well-publicised. She shot herself in the head after Britain declared war on Germany. She survived, but suffered permanent brain damage. She died of pneumococcal meningitis in 1948. Played by: Zoe Brough The rebel of the family, 'Decca' ran off to fight fascism in the Spanish Civil War, before planting her roots in America. After losing her first husband in World War II, she reinvented herself as a passionate writer and committed communist. Her groundbreaking book, The American Way of Death, exposed the funeral industry. Played by: Orla Hill The youngest of the family, Deborah was nicknamed 'Nine' by Nancy, which was half an insult, half affection. She married the future Duke of Devonshire and lived a pretty quiet life at Chatsworth House, which she transformed into an empire. Unlike her sisters, she wasn't one for the limelight and kept out of the headlines. Played by: Toby Regbo The only son of the Mitford family, Tom was born in 1909 and studied at Eton. Here, he had an affair with James Lees-Milne. He later had a relationship with troubled dancer Tilly Losch, who was married at the time to British poet, Edward James. According to Jessica's letters, Thomas supported British fascism and was posted to the Burma campaign after he had refused to fight in Europe. He died in action. Outrageous airs on UKTV's free streaming service U and U&DRAMA on Thursday 19th June, and on BritBox in North America on 18th June.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store