Last summer, the ladies of The Anglophile Channel were extremely fortunate to be invited to visit the set of the upcoming mini-series The Forsytes. The Forsytes is brought to us by our beloved Poldark dream team, production company Mammoth Screen and writer Debbie Horsfield. We won’t give away any secrets, or spoilers, but we can tell you a few of the reasons why we are very excited about The Forsytes.

I will confess that only very recently I realized something that should have been obvious about the Forsytes, which is based on a series of books, The Forsyte Saga, written by John Galsworthy.

The name Forsyte…is, of course, a homophone of foresight.  Wow. That took me long enough!

This can’t be a coincidence. It makes sense because absolutely everyone should have seen the emotional train wreck coming to this upper middle class 19th century poster family for extreme dysfunction. Although, if everyone had, we’d all miss out on a very engaging tale. I decided that before the series airs, I must read at least the first book. Ambition took hold and I downloaded ALL the books of the Forsyte Saga and tore through them. I’m so glad I did, because I learned many things about this story which, despite already seeing a couple of adaptations, I thought I knew. 

My first discovery is that we should not be wary that the word “prequel” is attached to this upcoming series. Any scene we’ve ever watched in any adaptation which takes place before Irene and Soames are married is “prequel” material. The books begin by introducing the family at June’s engagement party, so it will be great to see the snippets of backstory we get in the books played out on screen. A wedding photo of Soames and Irene has been officially released. The wedding is skipped over entirely in the book, and this photo made me positively giddy. 

We were allowed to watch a fragment of a courtship scene that takes place before Irene and Soames are married so it looks like we will get lots of background, which will help us understand our lead characters a little better. The books also revealed a few shockers which I hope will be played out in this series. This production has the luxury of multiple episodes and perhaps, several seasons, to go into previously unexplored moments on film so I’m anxious to see what will be included. It was easy to picture some of the new cast members as I read through the books.

We were thrilled to see some familiar faces in the cast on the day we visited, as well as some faces we didn’t recognize. I had to play it cool because I was internally geeking out seeing Susan Hampshire (who played Fleur Forsyte in the 1967 through the early 1970’s adaptation) and Francesca Annis, both looking like the gorgeous legends they are. These ladies have acted in some of my most beloved period dramas. I didn’t speak to them. Not only were they busy focusing on filming a scene, but I was suffering the end of a cold which I didn’t want to share with my heroines. Besides, my stuffy nose made me sound absolutely ridiculous, so I gazed and admired from a distance. What a privilege it was to watch this cast at work.

Poldark fans will recognize Eleanor Tomlinson (Demelza) and Tristan Sturrock (Zacky Martin). Millie Gibson from Doctor Who, Stephen Moyer from True Blood, Tuppence Middleton from the Downton Abbey films, Jamie Flatters, Owen Igiehon, Jack Davenport, Joshua Orpin, Danny Griffin, and many new faces fill out this stellar cast. There is also a tiny, adorable dog actor who will melt your heart. 

We got to watch a complicated drawing room scene which was a real treat, as well as a gorgeous outdoor scene which was being filmed in between rain squalls. The actors were great sports about tramping through the wet grass over and over in an attempt to dodge the raindrops for a dry take while the costume lady closely monitored Millie Gibson’s gown as the hem would be “six inches deep in mud” in no time at all. We were shivering, but the actors looked elegant and sunny in their glorious summer wardrobe.

As to the stunning costumes, those we saw were perfectly luscious in their high Victorian splendour. We got to visit a few other corners of the Forsyte universe including the business offices and a formal dining room at the studio. The attention to every tiny detail of both the sets and costumes is astonishing. We cannot wait to see the finished episodes on screen. 

The Forsytes will be airing on Channel 5 in the UK Monday October 20th and on PBS Masterpiece in the USA in 2026.  We don’t have dates yet but we’re on the watch for them, as well as more information where some of our other friends around the globe can watch this stunning series. 

This was a dream of a set visit. Were we wishing we could squeeze into corseted silk confections and run amok through those sets to join the Forsyte’s circle for even a moment? You know we were. Visiting this world created by The Forsytes looked like it would be a real treat. We are anxious to get completely immersed in this Victorian drama. A second season of The Forsytes is already in the works…. and we are positively aflutter!

Elyse Ashton, the author, is an actress and Los Angeles Press Club Award winning co-host of The Anglophile Channel’s Dish shows. She gives her opinions very decidedly.