(dramatic music) - This is our moment.

- I can hardly wait.

Care to give us a taster?

- [Ann] What is a Forsyte?

(dramatic music) - People say that we live three lives, a public life, a personal life, and then a secret life.

I feel like that's amplified in the world of The Forsytes.

- In terms of making epic drama and human drama, the 19th century was historically an extraordinary time.

- I just love going into this world and dipping into this era.

- There's lots of exciting things going on underneath the surface.

- Plenty of scandal in The Forsytes.

Yes, we love it.

- There are different shades of romance.

There's a very pure first love.

There is also passion, which becomes a very controlled kind of love.

There is a very stable love, which is then disrupted by past love.

(dramatic music) - There's a great tension in the show.

Succession is everything.

- You and not he are the man for the job.

- They wrestle with the constant sort of back and forth.

- Sparks are flying and you're really feeling the heat of that rivalry.

- The books are amazing, but they're very much written from a male perspective.

This is a great opportunity to redress the balance.

- Your wife has a mind of her own.

- It's that silent power, which is so interesting.

- You and I will work very well together.

(dramatic music) - I think one of the things that makes these costume dramas work is the possibility of this imaginary world.

- Beautiful hair, beautiful makeup, beautiful costumes, beautiful set, beautiful people.

- Glamorous, always put together, always pristine, which gives us an idea of how important appearance and standing is.

- There's horse riding and there's boxing, and there's office politics, and there's romance and affairs.

What more could you want?

- I think there's new characters that are going to steal the public's heart, and I can't wait for you to see who those people are.

- That's great drama.

(dramatic music)