Mistresses (2008 TV series)

Mistresses
The four central women.
Genre	Serial drama
Created by	SJ Clarkson and Lowri Glain
Written by	Rachel Pole Richard Warlow Harriet Braun Catrin Clarke
Directed by	SJ Clarkson Philip John Peter Hoar
Starring	Sarah Parish Sharon Small Shelley Conn Orla Brady Raza Jaffrey Adam Rayner Patrick Baladi Max Brown Adam Astill
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Language(s)	English
No. of series	3
No. of episodes	16 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Matt Arlidge Douglas Rae Lucy Bedford
Producer(s)	Lowri Glain
Location(s)	Bristol
Running time	60 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	BBC One BBC HD
Original run	8 January 2008 (2008-01-08) – 26 August 2010 (2010-08-26)
External links
Website

Mistresses is a British serial drama television programme that follows the lives of four female friends and their involvement in an array of illicit and complex relationships. The programme was written by Rachel Pole, Richard Warlow, Harriet Braun and Catrin Clarke and filmed in Bristol by Ecosse Films for BBC Drama, Wales.^[1]

The first series was broadcast on BBC One from 8th January to 12th February 2008 in a six-episode run. A second series of six episodes aired from 17th February to 24th March 2009. Mistresses returned for a third and final series comprising four episodes on 5 August 2010.

Main characters

Katie Roden (Sarah Parish) is a GP who, at the beginning of series one, is a 'mistress' to John Grey, a terminally ill patient whom she later helps commit physician assisted suicide. After John's death, his son, Sam (Max Brown), discovers evidence of his father's affair. Distraught, he confides in Katie, unaware she was the woman who his father had an affair with. Katie then begins a reluctant romantic relationship with Sam as she struggles with the knowledge that she helped his father die. Ultimately, unable to lie any longer, Katie tells Sam, who informs his mother and the authorities resulting in Katie getting a year's suspension from work.

Series two begins with Katie taking a junior post in a hospital department working alongside an old flame from medical school, Jack Hudson (Steven Brand), who is now married to Megan (Natasha Little) but still holds a torch for Katie. Also at the hospital, Katie meets Jack and Megan's friend and fellow surgeon Dan Tate (Mark Umbers), with whom she strikes up a relationship. All goes well until Jack decides to act on his feelings for Katie and they embark on a brief affair. Katie ends the affair before she is discovered but Dan witnesses a final kiss between the pair and decides to move to Australia to take up a medical post he's been offered. Katie leaves a heartfelt note of apology for Dan, which he reads before deciding to take her with him to Australia.

Series three introduces Katie's mother Vivienne Roden (Joanna Lumley), with whom Katie has a tense relationship. Vivienne has found a new man and intends on selling the old family home where Katie lived as a child, much to Katie's distaste. Later Katie discovers that her (now-deceased) father had kept a mistress of his own during his marriage to Vivienne, and Katie softens toward her mother. Also this series, Katie becomes close with Trudi's partner Richard (Patrick Baladi) and the two lean on one another during hard times as well as sharing a kiss. They decide to run away together to begin a new life, but Richard is killed in a car accident on his way to the train station. Trudi later discovers the plan and, feeling betrayed, ends her friendship with Katie.

Trudi Malloy (Sharon Small) is a 9/11 widow and mother of two, who is convinced her husband, Paul, is still alive. In the first episode, she receives a cheque from a 9/11 bereavement fund worth around £1 million and begins seeing Richard (Patrick Baladi), a single father whose daughter goes to the same school as Trudi's daughters. A woman, Sally, makes contact with Trudi, claiming she was Paul's lover while he was in New York and that they have a son together. Trudi decides to split the money with Sally in order to provide for the son Paul fathered with her, but is stunned to discover that she was right all along - Paul is alive, and used 9/11 as an excuse to carry out his plan of leaving Trudi for Sally. Trudi informs the authorities and returns the bereavement money.

In series two, Richard and his daughter, Amy, have moved in with Trudi and her daughters and has put his house on the market. Trudi wants them to divorce their partners and get married but Richard is unsure. Trudi also starts selling her home-made cakes at a local deli where Lucas (Sean Francis), the owner, is clearly fond of her. Concerns over Richard's finances lead Trudi to discover his secret - that his wife, who he had claimed was dead, is in a residential home suffering with early-onset Alzheimer's. Horrified, Trudi insists that Richard tells Amy the truth about her mother. Despite her brief fling with Lucas, she and Richard reconcile eventually, settling down to life together as a family.

In series three, Richard is feeling sidelined as Trudi spends all of her time at her cake business, which now has its own factory and workforce. Whilst he embarks on a friendship and brief affair with Katie, Trudi is flattered by the attentions of an investor in the cake business, Chris (Vincent Regan), and frustrated by what she feels is a lack of support for her on Richard's end. She enjoys a one-night stand with Chris but soon comes to regret it and is distraught when Richard is killed in a car accident whilst on his way to meet Katie at the train station, where he intends to run away with her.

Jessica Fraser (Shelley Conn) is an event planner who has had a string of lovers including her boss, Simon (Adam Astill), and who doesn't get involved in committed, long-term relationships. In the first episode, she is assigned to organize a wedding for a lesbian couple and strikes up a friendship with one of the brides, Alex (Anna Torv). There's clear chemistry between the pair and Jessica realises that she has feelings for Alex, which later become complicated when she begins to fall in love with her. After seeing the trouble caused by her friend Siobhan's infidelity, Jessica breaks off the relationship, despite Alex's offer to leave her fiancé for Jessica.

As series two begins, Jessica is in an open marriage with a man named Mark with whom she had a whirlwind affair. Jessica believes the marriage is a strong one but is shocked by how jealous she is when she realizes that Mark has been engaged in a long term sexual relationship with his assistant Carrie (Preeya Kalidas). Jessica makes her feelings known, and though Mark realises she is unhappy he can't bring himself to be faithful to one woman, causing them to split. Jess discovers that she is pregnant and, to her surprise, can't bring herself to have a termination. Mark tells her they should make a go of things as a family and cease seeing other people.

Two years have passed as series three begins, and Jessica has miscarried the baby, leaving her depressed. Meanwhile Mark has gone bankrupt and is forced to accept a lowly job in a call centre to provide for his family, but the shame of how far he has fallen causes him to quit the job. Jessica realises they can't afford the IVF treatment she believes they need in order to get pregnant. Mark accepts a loan from Siobhan, claiming he will use it for the IVF but keeping it quiet from Jessica and instead using it to invest in business, in a bid to regain his lost wealth. When Jessica finds out she's furious and both her friendship with Siobhan and relationship with Mark unravel.

Siobhan Dhillon (Orla Brady) is a successful lawyer. She and her husband, Hari (Raza Jaffrey), have been trying to start a family for some time and Siobhan is weary of his obsession with their fertility issues. She flirts with and eventually has a brief affair with a colleague, Dominic (Adam Rayner). Upon seeing a fertility specialist, Hari discovers that he is infertile, but the doctor suggests a course of IVF treatment. Before this can take place, Siobhan is shocked to discover she is already pregnant, and realises the baby must be Dominic's. Initially, she lets Hari think that he is the father but eventually admits the affair. Hari is heartbroken but nonetheless (after a brief split) agrees to take Siobhan back and raise the child as their own.

As series two begins, Siobhan has had the baby - a little girl, Elsa - and returned to work. Hari has become a stay-at-home dad but has not been able to forgiven Siobhan for her infidelity and they are sleeping in separate beds. To satisfy her sexual needs, Siobhan secretly goes out during the night and picks up men in hotel bars for anonymous sex. When Jessica discovers what Siobhan is doing, Siobhan tries to argues that this is different, and more acceptable, than her relationship with Dominic because she is not emotionally involved with these men. Things become complicated when she meets Tom McCormack (Thomas Lockyer), an older businessman who is unsatisfied with their one night stand and begins to pursue Siobhan, showing up at Siobhan's home and becoming a client at work in a bid to insert himself into her life. Eventually Tom resorts to sending photos of him and Siobhan together to Hari, destroying her marriage. Hari bids an emotional goodbye to Siobhan and baby Elsa, then leaves for good.

Siobhan's romances take a back seat in series three as she continues bringing up Elsa as a single mother. When Dominic, with whom Siobhan has remained friends, springs the news on Siobhan that he is engaged to be married to a woman he met whilst working in America, Siobhan is initially pleased for him but clearly still harbours feelings for the father of her child. The two grow closer again but Siobhan is determined not to act on her feelings and ruin the wedding plans. Eventually Dominic tells Siobhan it's her that he wants and that he's called off the wedding, and the pair reconcile.

Episodes

Main article: List of Mistresses episodes

Filming locations

Locations used for filming other than Bristol.

Series 2 : Episode 1

The wedding sequences were shot in the gardens and cloister of Iford Manor, near Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire. Siobhans flings in series 2 are filmed in a suite at the Bath Spa Hotel.

Viewing figures

Series	Episode number	Original airing	Total viewers	Series viewer average
1	1	8 January 2008	5.05m	4.87m[2]
	2	15 January 2008	4.92m
	3	22 January 2008	4.76m
	4	29 January 2008	4.63m
	5	5 February 2008	4.73m
	6	12 February 2008	5.12m
2	1	17 February 2009	5.28m	4.76m
	2	24 February 2009	4.16m
	3	3 March 2009	4.84m
	4	10 March 2009	?
	5	17 March 2009	4.37m
	6	24 March 2009	4.63m
3	1	5 August 2010	4.64m
	2	12 August 2010	4.42m
	3	19 August 2010	4.84m
	4	26 August 2010	4.78m

DVD releases

The first series was released on DVD in the United Kingdom and Ireland on 4 February 2008. The second series was released on 30 March 2009.

International broadcasters

Australia

Mistresses began airing on Channel Seven in Australia on Tuesday, 29 April 2008 at 21.30. It rated 678,000 viewers,^[3] ranking only third in its timeslot, and based on the weak rating, Seven moved it to 22.30 the following week.

Belgium

Mistresses began airing on Canvas on Fridays at 21:10 in January 2009.

Bulgaria

Mistresses aired its first season over 2 weeks in Fall 2010 on the Bulgarian National Television channel (BNT 1).

Czech Republic

Mistresses began airing on Czech Television on Wednesdays at 22:20 in September 2010.

Ireland

Mistresses airs on RTÉ One on Mondays at 21:30. Series 2 started broadcasting on 23 June 2009.

Israel

Mistresses had been purchased by the local cable TV firm "Hot" and aired by its VOD service. It has also been aired on Channel 23.

Finland

Mistresses began airing on YLE on Friday, 1 January 2010 at 22:00. The Finnish title of the show is Toisia naisia.

France

Mistresses aired on Téva since November 2008 and Arte since August 2009.

Germany

Mistresses began airing on WDR on Thursday, 16 July 2009 at 22:00. The German title of the show is Aus Lust und Leidenschaft.

New Zealand

Mistresses began airing on TV One in New Zealand on Wednesday, 5 November 2008 at 20:30.

Russia

Mistresses aired on Channel One from Monday to Thursday at 23:30 from 30 July to 7 August 2008.

Serbia

Mistresses (Ljubavnice) aired on RTS1 on Sundays at 23:00 from 22 March to 10 May 2009.

First, second and third season aired from 28 Novembre 2010 at the same time slot.

All seasons are reruns from 6 April 2011 - Monday to Friday at 21:00.

Sweden

Mistresses aired on TV4. Series 1: summer of 2009. Series 2: summer of 2010. The swedish title of the show is Älskarinnor.

Switzerland

Mistresses premiered on SF zwei on Monday, 17 November 2008 at 21:40.

United States

Mistresses premiered on BBC America on Friday, 20 February 2009 at 20:00.

An American version of the show was commissioned for the 2009 pilot season. This will star Holly Marie Combs, Brooke Burns, Rochelle Aytes, Camille Sullivan, Niall Matter, Sarah Glendening, and Alex Ferris.

References

1. ^ "BBC - Drama - Mistresses". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/drama/mistresses/. 
2. ^ Exact figure: 4.86833, calculated from BARB figures for week ending 13/01/08 and all subsequent weeks until 17/02/08 which can be found here
3. ^ "The Sun Herald - Tribal Mind". The Sun-Herald. http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare/archives/2008/05/the_who_we_are_1.html. Retrieved 1 May 2008. 

External links

• Mistresses at BBC Online
• BBC Press Office release at BBC Online taken from 18 May 2007, during filming of Mistresses.
• Mistresses at the Internet Movie Database
• Mistresses at TV.com
• Mistresses en Lesbicanarias Resúmenes de Episodio (Spanish)
• OrlandoSentinel
• Mistresses photos RadioTimes.com