There were several favorite episodes. Near the beginning when Gemma Jones faints on her bicycle because of working to hard to make the Cavendish viable and is rescued by Charlie Hazelmere. When Gemma falls in love with Charlie much later. When Gemma tries to help Charlie's wife who is anorexic, especially the last scene with the little girl releasing the bird from the cage near a creek with her adopted father. The heartbreaking scenes where Gemma and Charlie are planning their wedding after he has been injured in the war. The wonderful actress who played the Welsh maid and her beautiful, musical voice esp. her scenes with Gemma's grown daughter Lala Ward.

--Lin

I was a fan before the show even started. There was a trailer shown in the weeks and days before hand, where a young woman with a harsh cockney accent was letting the world know her determination to make it to the top. The same woman then featured on the front cover of thelistings magazine 'Radio Times', surrounded by exotic and elaborate dishes of food. Once the series started, I always felt inspired by Louisa's grit and determination. The first three or four episodes showing her rise to prominence were among my favourites, but from the later episodes I loved Louisa's crabby mother - June Brown, now in East Enders, and of course Merriman, always sniffing and prophesying doom. And I do remember one episode where Louisa was throwing chamber pots over a garden wall because someone had upset her. The suddenly the series ended, without any warning, and Gemma Jones vanished from the telly. but the series lived on in my memory as a highpoint of British TV. The recent DVD releases show that it was every bit as good as I remembered, despite some rather hamfisted edits, and the loss of the lovely waltz version of the theme tune.

--Michael