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A Woman of Substance
Based on the phenomenally successful novel, the sweeping saga of Emma Harte’s dazzling climb from impoverished shop girl to head of a vast empire is a celebration of one woman’s indomitable spirit.
Deborah Kerr and Jenny Seagrove shared the title role of the indomitable Emma Harte, and actor Liam Neeson played the role of Blackie O’Neill.
The mini series earned two Emmy nominations: one for Deborah Kerr and one for the series.
The six-hour tv adaptation of A Woman of Substance aired on both sides of the Atlantic: in American in November 1984, earning exceptional ratings and in the UK on Channel 4 in January 1985 where it secured its highest ever audience figures, with 13.8 million viewers. This remains the channel’s highest ever audience.
Since the initial broadcast, it has aired five times on national television in the US and has also been broadcast worldwide.
A Woman of Substance charts the life of Emma Harte, from kitchen maid at the beginning of the 20th Century, to respected businesswoman and Grandmother in the 1980s. From humble beginnings, Emma Harte starts her business with a small shop, but over the next twenty years, she expands her stores and invests in the growing textile industry in Leeds. By the time of World War 2, Emma is the head of a major retail and manufacturing empire, but she has struggled all her life to find love.
After an illegitimate daughter and two marriages, she finally meets the love of her life, Paul McGill, but their affair is cut short by a tragic accident, leaving Emma with his daughter. In the 1980s Emma faces one of her biggest tests - her children’s attempt to remove her as head of her company, but Emma is far from the senile old woman they think she is - she is determined to stop them at all costs.
A Woman of Substance original trailer
Barbara Taylor Bradford on A Woman of Substance
| First aired: | 1984 |
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| Starring: | Diane Baker, George Baker, Peter Egan, Christopher Guard, Dominic Guard, Jenny Seagrove, Gayle Hunnicutt, Barry Morse, Nicola Pagett |
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| Run time: | 5 hours |
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