As Jack Davenport jokes when TVChoice chat to him about his new series The Forsytes, ‘Everyone likes watching shows about miserable, rich people trying to kill each other.’ And he has a point.
Take Succession for example. For the four series that it ran, that family-orientated drama dominated at awards ceremonies and people couldn’t get enough. Luckily there’s now a new TV drama set to swoop in and take its place: The Forsytes.
Think Succession if it was set in the Victorian era.
What is The Forsytes about?
The Forsytes are a wealthy Victorian family who made their money in stockbroking. Everything filters down from Matriarch Ann Forsyte (Francesca Annis). Her eldest son Jolyon Senior (Stephen Moyer) has inherited the family stockbroking business Forsyte & Co. much to the chagrin of her second son James (Jack Davenport).
Following the line of succession, Jolyon’s son, Jolyon Junior (Danny Griffin), is set to inherit everything, whilst James’ son Soames (Joshua Orpin) will have to make his own way in the world. And that doesn’t sit right with the ambitious James and Soames. As well as making life difficult for people at Forsyte & Co., Soames’ blossoming relationship with the orphaned ballerina Irene Heron (Millie Gibson) isn’t typical of someone of his status and means.
And it’s not just Soames navigating a tricky romance. His cousin Jolyon Jr.’s relationship with wife Frances (Tuppence Middleton) also starts to fall apart when a figure from his past, Louisa Byrne (Eleanor Tomlinson), returns to his life.
Who stars in The Forsytes?
Francesca Annis as Ann Forsyte
Introducing the wise and experienced Ann Forsyte, Francesca Annis shares, ‘Ann Forsyte is the very wise matriarch of the Forsyte family. She originally came from quite a humble background, her money came from industry, blacksmiths, dirty jobs. Her family made a lot of money, and she married into the Forsytes when they were near liquidation and saved their fortunes. She's a very wise person and brings all her experience to this situation and she's determined to hold the family together.’
The Forsytes is far from the first period drama that Francesca has appeared in. From 2007-2009 Francesca played Lady Ludlow in Cranford which was set in the early 1840s, and she also led the cast of Lillie (set in the 1860s) as Lillie Langtry – in fact, for playing Lillie, Francesca won the 1979 BAFTA Television Awards for Best Actress. And let’s not forget the four-art BBC adaptation of Wives and Daughters: An Everyday Story by Elizabeth Gaskell in which she played Mrs Kirkpatrick, the mother of Keeley Hawes’ Cynthia Kirkpatrick, and received her sixth BAFTA nomination for Best Actress.
More recently, you may have spotted Francesca in an episode of the second series of Showtrial as Dame Harriet Kenny or in the 2024 film adaptation of Hamlet which was led by Sir Ian McKellen.
Jack Davenport as James Forsyte
‘James Forsyte is frankly, a bit of a dick,’ laughs Jack as we chat to him. ‘But that's really fun to play! He's not a nice person. And it's not the first time I've played someone who's not very nice, but I do like doing it. It's fun.’
He continues, ‘It all links back to, I think the fancy word is primogeniture. James is not the first born, he's the second. And he doesn't like that, and he thinks that Jolyon Junior isn’t up to the job. He thinks Soames is up to the job. And so, much of James's time is spent trying to subtly, or not so subtly, undermine what seems to be preordained.’
And those not very nice characters that Jack Davenport has played? There was Captain James Norrington in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise (although we will admit we always had a bit of a soft spot for him), Miles Stuart in This Life, Steve Taylor in Coupling and more recently assassin Sean in the Keeley Hawes-led The Assassin.
There are also a few likeable characters in Jack’s repertoire though. Film wise there’s Peter Smith-Kingsley in The Talented Mr. Ripley and Lancelot in Kingsman: The Secret Service and then on TV he obviously played Detective Michael Colefield in Ultraviolet which he starred in alongside his real life close pal Stephen Moyer who he reunites with in The Forsytes.
Tom Durant-Pritchard as Monty Dartie
The husband of Winifred Forsyte – the daughter of James Forsyte and thus Soames Forsyte’s sister – is a bit of a ‘try-hard’ explains Tom Durant-Pritchard.
‘Monty is the outsider of the Forsytes,’ Tom says. ‘He's married his way into the family yet believes he is there on merit. He’s not averse to a bit of risk-taking every now and again. He would describe himself as a player, a legend, a lady's man, but I'm not convinced that's how others see him.’
Tom has worked on a mixture of high-brow and low-brow shows throughout his extensive career. The most famous of his high-brown shows is perhaps the BAFTA-winning This Is Going To Hurt in which he played Greg – Adam Kay’s (Ben Whishaw) problematic BFF – and more recently, Suspect: The Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes in which he played Charlie 12.
On the low-brow end (and by no means is that a criticism) there’s the hilarious The Windsors in which he played Prince Harry, and Miss Scarlet and The Duke which he joined in series five as Inspector Alexander Blake, essentially a replacement of William ‘The Duke’ Wellington.
Jamie Flatters as Philip Bosinney
Jamie Flatters made his TV debut in 2015 as Matt Furnish in the CBBC sitcom So Awkward. Since then you may have spotted him in the Joanne Froggatt-led Liar which he starred in as Luke Earlham, the son of Andrew aka Ioan Gruffudd. More recently you may have spotted Jamie in Close to Me, playing Owen.
Speaking about his latest role as Philip Bosinney in The Forsytes, Jamie says, ‘Philip is a revolutionary, a freethinker. He wants socialist reform within society. He's an architect and an artist. That artistic gaze is also how he interprets the people of status within the Forsyte family, which means that he's privately judgmental about the characters that he shares space with and is a lot more dissociated with what other people want to chase.’
When he’s not acting, Jamie performs under the name sandy crow which is described as a ‘Musical Project’. We’re not entirely sure what that means either, but you can listen to his work on Spotify and make up your own mind!
Millie Gibson as Irene Heron
Joining such a large ensemble cast felt a little daunting for Millie Gibson, but she admits that the experience only aided her portrayal of Irene Heron – also an outsider attempting to find her place within the Forsyte family through her marriage to Soames Forsyte.
‘I felt quite method, Millie jokes. ‘Because I was quite late to come into the filming process. So my first scene with everyone was when Irene was meeting everyone. When you see that scene, I look like a deer in headlights, but it was so much fun.
‘I really felt her pain there. Irene is the daughter of such a laid back, Bohemian family, polar opposite to the Forsytes, and she quickly learns that it's like nothing she's ever known. And Soames is like nothing she's ever known. It's a horrible family, really, really hostile. But she learns to cope.’
In reality though, Millie is no stranger to an ensemble cast and dramatic storylines having shot to fame for portraying Kelly Neelan in Coronation Street from 2019-2022. More recently, her TV work has included the role of Ruby Sunday in Doctor Who – the companion of Ncuti Gatwa’s fifteenth doctor.
Danny Griffin as Jolyon Forsyte
Playing Jolyon Junior in The Forsytes marks Danny Griffin’s biggest role to date. He says of the character, ‘With the Forsyte name comes a lot of responsibility. Jolyon wants to make sure that his clients are respected and looked after, which clashes with his cousin Soames’ way of doing business.
‘In his past, Jolyon was a big painter and loved to paint, but it’s something he's had to give up to do the job that he was born to do, which is working at the firm.’
Prior to playing Jolyon, Danny starred as Sky Silva in Netflix’s short-lived Fate: The Winx Saga.
Owen Igiehon as Issac Cole
Bar a very small appearance in Alfonso Cuaron’s Disclaimer, playing Issac Cole in The Forsytes marks Owen Igiehon’s first acting role.
Owen says of Issac, ‘Isaac is the Forsyte & Co. lawyer and Jolyon Jr.’s best friend since their Oxford university days. He is a friend of the family and well respected by Jolyon Snr. He has plenty of ideas and opinions about the business and the family, he’s also keenly aware of his place, social standing in society, his position within the company and where he fits into the Forsyte family dynamic. It’s that awareness that allows him to know when it's his turn to speak up and step forward or when it's his time to stay behind the scenes and keep an eye on things. He's very observant and astute.’
Tuppence Middleton as Frances Forsyte
Introducing Frances Forsyte, Tuppence Middleton says, ‘Frances is a very strong, independent and secure woman. She knows who she is and she likes to take charge. Frances came from money and was brought into the Forsyte family to both elevate their status and their standing.
‘I think she's pretty satisfied with her life at the point in which we meet her. It's only then that things start to spiral out of her control, and she's a woman who's not used to being out of control. She keeps the family together in a way, and is very loyal to what she was brought into this family to do.’
Tuppence originally made her acting debut in 2008 in an episode of Bones, but it wasn’t long before she had moved onto bigger and better things. Her film debut came in 2009 with the black comedy slasher film Tormented in which she played Justine Fielding.
Her biggest TV roles to date have been playing Riley ‘Blue’ Gunnarsdottir in Sense8, Amelia Havisham in Dickensian and Princess Helene Kuragina in War & Peace. Film-wise, there’s been The Imitation Game in which she played Helen Stewart and Lucy Smith in the Downton Abbey films.
Justine Moore as June Forsyte
Playing June Forsyte in The Forsytes marks Justine Moore’s biggest role to date, but in 2022 she did have a small part in the Vicky McClure-led Without Sin.
When asked to describe June, Justine says, ‘June is, generally speaking, a ray of sunshine. She brings energy and joy wherever she goes. She's got a lot of hope for change which comes with her being from the younger generation - she can see what might be wrong with the way that the society that she lives in is constructed and she's very optimistic she can make the change if she's determined enough, if she's assertive enough. She gets a lot of that from her grandmother Ann and from her mum, Frances.’
Stephen Moyer as Jolyon Senior
‘For Jolyon Senior, being a Forsyte means carrying on a tradition of success and standing within a society that his whole family benefit from,’ explains Stephen Moyer. ‘The Forsytes aren’t aristocrats, but self-made businessmen, and Jolyon’s father and grandfather worked hard to bring the company to its current status. They aren’t viewed as old money, which is why marriages are so important to the family status.’
Stephen is probably best known for portraying Bill Compton in True Blood, but that isn’t actually the only drama about vampires that Stephen has starred in. There was also Ultraviolet alongside his The Forsytes co-star Jack Davenport and the 2011 film Priest in which he played vampire hunter Owen Pace.
You may also recognise Stephen from the After film series in which he played Christian Vance, Safe House with Christopher Eccleston and The Gifted in which he portrayed Reed Strucker.
Joshua Orpin as Soames Forsyte
‘I play Soames Forsyte,’ introduces Joshua Orpin as he chats to TVChoice. ‘He's one of the younger Forsyte men, in the newer generation. He is a stockbroker at Forsyte & Co., and he’s the cousin of Jolyon Junior, who is set to inherit the Forsyte stockbroking empire. But Soames has big ambitions, and he believes he's better for the job of future chairman. And then he ends up meeting Irene and things take a turn.’
Australian actor Joshua is probably best known for playing Conner Kent aka Superboy in the DC Universe action-adventure series Titans. And as part of the right of passage that all Australian actors seem to go through, last year he starred in 12 episodes of Home and Away as Rory Templeton.
Josette Simon as Ellen Parker Barrington
After many successful years at both the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre, Josette Simon has been a regular on our TV screens appearing in the two-part TV series Seekers written by Lynda La Plante and Netflix’s Anatomy of a Scandal as defence lawyer Angela Regan.
The Forsytes marks Josette’s first TV appearance in 2025 with her character Ellen Parker Barrington. Josette says of her character, ‘Ellen Parker Barrington is quite an extraordinary woman. She's based on a real person called Sarah Parker Remond who was an international activist for human rights and an anti-abolitionist.
‘My character obviously operates in a society where people from her background are viewed in a certain way. Ellen married into money and her husband has died leaving her a lot of money which opens doors for her in a way that might not have been open previously to her. She's philanthropic, she's a celebrated lecturer and campaigner so her aim in life is to do good, especially for women who have fallen on hard times. She has an extraordinary mind, incredible intelligence and a generosity of spirit.’
Eleanor Tomlinson as Louisa Byrne
Introducing Louisa Byrne, Eleanor Tomlinson tells TVChoice, ‘She's not a member of the Forsyte family - she's a dressmaker, from Ireland originally, who's come over to live in Soho. And as the series progresses, we realise that she has a link to one of the main characters, and there's potentially a romance that has been before.
‘As that unfolds and starts to threaten the Forsyte household, we see what that does to The Forsyte family. Will love conquer all?
And this isn’t Eleanor’s first time playing a character created by Debbie Horsfield. In fact, Eleanor’s most famous role to date is playing Demelza in Poldark – also created by Debbie. Other TV shows Eleanor has appeared in include The War of the Worlds playing Amy, The Nevers playing mary Brighton and more recently The Couple Next Door playing Evie Greenwood and One Day playing Sylvie Cope.
As for films, Eleanor of course shot to fame in Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging, but you may also have spotted her in Colette playing Georgie Raoul-Duval and Netflix’s Love Wedding Repeat as Hayley Carboni.
What book is The Forsytes based on?
The Forsytes is based on The Forsyte Saga – a collection of books by John Galsworthy who won the 1932 Nobel Prize in Literature. The first novel, The Man of Property, was released in 1906 and was followed by four others.
Have there been other TV adaptations of The Forsytes?
In 1967 there was a BBC TV adaptation called The Forsyte Saga. Starring Eric Porter as Soames, Joseph O’Conor as Old Jolyon and Susan Hampshire (who stars in the 2025 adaptation too) as Fleur, it was one of the BBC’s most successful broadcasts ever with 18million people tuning in for the final episode in 1969.
Then, in 2002, there was another successful adaptation, also entitled The Forsyte Saga. That version starred Damian Lewis as Soames, Gina McKee as Irene, Rupert Graves as young Jolyon and Sarah Winman as Frances Forsyte.
Who wrote The Forsytes?
Known for taking particularly unyielding novels and turning them into modern masterpieces with strong female characters, Debbie Horsfield wrote The Forsytes following her success with Winston Graham’s Poldark series.
Will there be a second series of The Forsytes?
Now, this is some real insider knowledge from TVChoice... Before 5 and PBS confirmed the news, when we chatted to Eleanor Tomlinson, she may have let slip that not only is there set to be a second series, but that it's already been filmed! In fact, series two of The Forsytes went into production in June 2025.
And the already pretty impressive cast is reportedly set to grow even further, with Richard Rankin (Outlander, Rebus), Sarah Alexander (Pennyworth, Jonathan Creek) and Nia Ashi (Bob Marley: One Love) rumoured to be joining series two.
When is The Forsytes set to air?
The first episode of The Forsytes aired on 5 on Monday 20 October.
Where can I watch The Forsytes?
All episodes of The Forsytes are available on 5.
Daisy Hall became a writer for TVChoice after realising that she could make a career out of her incredible ability to extensively name an actor's credits when they randomly pop up in whatever she's watching. Her friends find it infuriating, but hopefully you find it useful!