It is a truth universally acknowledged that we are a nation obsessed with period dramas.
And with every one packed with epic romance, feisty women, brooding men, rib-crushing corsets, battles, ballrooms and lavish sets, it’s no wonder.
Every time one comes along, we lap it up quicker than you can say ‘upstairs, downstairs’, and then we feel utterly bereft when it ends.
Monday sees the start of the second series of Sanditon on BritBox, with the much-awaited return of Bridgerton on Netflix on March 25.
And with The Gilded Age attracting millions of viewers, our love for the genre is clearly going nowhere.
As Downton’s Dowager once said, “Nothing succeeds like excess!” But which really are the best?
We bring you our top ten corset-core dramas, comparing everything from the sets and costumes to the villains and matriarchs. Bonnets up…
Downton Abbey, BritBox
Plot: The aristocratic Crawley family, living in Yorkshire in the early 1900s, agonise over heirs and marriages and money, while their servants plot and sabotage and forge their own romantic connections. It’s all soapy and scandalous.
Heroes and villains: Dowager Countess of Grantham (Maggie Smith) is joyfully scathing. Miss O’Brien (Siobhan Finneran) is the evil lady’s maid. Heroes? Probably just the dog.
Sets and costumes: Highclere Castle is now a tourist destination, say no more. The women’s outfits navigate the trends of the era - from Sybil’s harem pants to Mary’s wedding gown, it’s been a journey.
Bodice-ripper moment: Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery) sneaking into bed with a handsome Turkish diplomat. Shame he ended up dead.
Best bit: Matthew’s proposal to Lady Mary in the snow. Mr Carson proposing to Mrs Hughes comes a close second.
Worst bit: Sybil (Jessica Brown Findlay) dying in childbirth. Why, just why?!
Bridgerton, Netflix
Plot: From US showrunner Shonda Rhimes, this is set in the competitive world of Regency era London, when debutantes are presented at court and it’s elbows out for the best husband. Julie Andrews voices the ever-scandalous newsletter columnist known as Lady Whistledown - she knows all the gossip.
Heroes and villains: Villains include the scathing Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel) and a host of snobby mothers. Daphne (Phoebe Dynevor) is our hero, in love with Simon, The Duke of Hastings (Rege-Jean Page).
Sets and costumes: Many grand estates were used in filming, including Wilton House, Castle Howard, Hampton Court Palace and Somerset House. Costuming involved 200 people to create 5,000 costumes.
Bodice-ripper moment: How to choose? Simon and Daphne doing it on a desk, on their wedding night, on the stairs, basically everywhere…
Best bit: The diverse casting, including Queen Charlotte with mixed race heritage.
Worst bit: You absolutely cannot watch this with your parents.
The Gilded Age, Sky Atlantic
Plot: It’s 1880s New York and the old money clashes with new money. The series follows penniless Marian (Louisa Jacobson), who lives with her aunts Agnes (Christine Baranski) and Ada (Cynthia Nixon) on the Upper East side while the servants clash downstairs.
Heroes and villains: Agnes van Rhijn is the brilliantly cutting, stubborn old socialite who could give the Dowager a run for her money. Lady’s maid Bertha (Kelley Curran) has a mean streak. Heroes to root for include Marian and her friend Peggy (Denee Benton), an African-American writer battling racial division.
Sets and costumes: It’s not called The Gilded Age for nothing - stunning town houses, elaborate costumes and a big budget production make this a glossier, US Downton.
Bodice-ripper moment: More stolen kisses than raunchy sex scenes.
Best bit: Every time Marian tells her spiky aunt Agnes that she’s wrong - which is a lot.
Worst bit: Bertha’s gratuitous nude scene - there was no need.
Pride And Prejudice, Disney+
Plot: The iconic 1995 BBC adaptation follows the extremely slow-burn romance between Mr Darcy (Colin Firth) and Elizabeth Bennet (Jennifer Ehle). There’s plenty of comedy too, with misunderstandings, hen-pecking mothers (Alison Steadman is a dream) and much high society plotting.
Heroes and villains: Darcy is the ever-so awkward and emotionally-repressed British hero, while potential suitor Mr Collins (David Bamber) makes your skin crawl.
Sets and costumes: Earthy-toned costumes gave the Bennet girls innocence and simplicity, this is less lavish than other period dramas. But Darcy’s Pemberley estate (Lyme Park in Cheshire) lends an imposing grandeur.
Bodice-ripper moment: Darcy emerging from the lake in a soaking wet shirt. Pass the smelling salts.
Best bit: That steamy lake scene obviously - awkward, romantic, perfect.
Worst bit: Mr Wickham’s sideburns. No match for Darcy’s.
Upstairs Downstairs, BritBox
Plot: The 1970s ITV series follows the lives and fortunes of the Bellamy family and their below-stairs servant staff at 165 Eaton Place. Set from 1903-1930, it plays out against the backdrop of posh Edwardian London, covering women’s suffrage, World War One and the Roaring Twenties.
Heroes and villains: Unlike the scheming of Downton and The Gilded Age, this doesn’t have full-on baddies, just the occasional rogue. Pauline Collins was a scene-stealer as sassy house maid Sarah Moffat.
Sets and costumes: One of the first major colour productions made by LWT, sets and costumes were low-budget compared to modern dramas, mostly shooting in a studio, but still classy.
Bodice-ripper moment: How very dare you!
Best bit: It’s legacy. It’s the original costume soap opera, watched by millions and becoming an institution.
Worst bit: The 2010 sequel, which didn’t have the same impact.
Gentleman Jack, BBC iPlayer
Plot: Suranne Jones plays Anne Lister, a lady landowner (imagine!) in 1800s Yorkshire, who embarks on a dangerous romance with another woman. She keeps a cryptic diary that no one can decode. And it’s all based on a true story.
Heroes and villains: Anne, the proud 19th century lesbian landowner, is the hero of the piece, while all the local gossips are the bad guys.
Sets and costumes: Suranne stalks about in a top hat and frock coat, looking a treat in cool, rebel 19th century fashion. Sets are lower-key, but with stunning Yorkshire countryside.
Bodice-ripper moment: A particularly intense kiss after Ann’s (Sophie Rundle) romantic 19th century lesbian proposal to Anne.
Best bit: Every time Anne breaks the fourth wall and gives a monologue. So very Fleabag.
Worst bit: Cameos from the likes of Katherine Kelly and Sofie Grabol are all too brief.
Cranford, BritBox
Plot: Comedy drama set in the fictional village of Cranford in Cheshire in the 1840s, the story focuses on the single and widowed middle class women in the town. Spinsters with a lot to say and much to gossip about.
Heroes and villains: Mrs Jamieson (Barbara Flynn) displays some nasty and cruel snobbery, but mostly everyone is good-hearted and worthy.
Sets and costumes: Lots of bonnets and bustles, but nothing too glitzy or colourful. As for the sets, think cobbled streets and village scenes.
Bodice-ripper moment: Hardly. A man and a woman lying in bed, fully clothed, is about as raunchy as it gets.
Best bit: The power of the matriarchs, and a wish-list cast including Eileen Atkins, Judi Dench, Imelda Staunton, Julia Sawalha, Francesca Annis, Lesley Manville and Julia McKenzie.
Worst bit: Occasionally a bit bonkers - please see a cat eating lace, an orange-sucking drama and a vanishing cow.
Sanditon, ITV Hub / Britbox
Plot: Based on Jane Austen’s final, unfinished novel, this stars Rose Williams as Charlotte, a young, naive woman navigating life and love in the newly-developed seaside resort of Sanditon during the Regency period. She immediately clashes with the wild - and therefore totally attractive - Sidney (Theo James).
Heroes and villains: Charlotte and Sidney are our heroes and we’re rooting for them to get together throughout. The villain is Sir Edward Denham (Jack Fox), who shouldn’t be trusted.
Sets and costumes: Not as big-budget as Downton or The Gilded Age. Gorgeous seaside shots and conventional corsets.
Bodice-ripper moment: Edward and Clara enjoying a racy romp on a marble floor. Viewers were worried about bruises.
Best bit: Anne Reid as the formidable grande dame of the piece, presiding over her fortune and money-grabbing family.
Worst bit: The incest storyline. Jane Austen would be turning in her grave.
War & Peace, Prime Video
Plot: There’s nothing like a Napoleonic war to get the pulses racing. Tolstoy’s sweeping Russian melodrama, adapted for the BBC in 2016, stars Lily James and James Norton. With themes of love, class, power and war, this is a lavish classic.
Heroes and villains: Prince Andrei (Norton) is a proper hero, brave, noble and brooding. Many, many villains include Anatole (Callum Turner) and his father Prince Kuragin (Stephen Rea) - just loathsome.
Sets and costumes: Filmed in Russia, Lithuania and Latvia, this has an epic feel with an original score, glittering palaces and sumptuous costumes.
Bodice-ripper moment: Plenty of sex scenes between Andrei and Natasha (Lily James). Lily said: “Some people have called it Phwoar and Peace”.
Best bit: James Norton, enough said.
Worst bit: It sometimes feels like it’s racing through the story - but the novel is over 1,200 pages long, so we’ll forgive it.
Vanity Fair, Prime Video
Plot: Based on the 1848 novel by William Makepeace Thackeray, it centres on Becky Sharp (Olivia Cooke), a cynical social climber who uses her charms to fascinate and seduce upper-class men.
Heroes and villains: Obsessed with status and wealth, Becky is a bit of a sociopath, carrying out bad deeds to raise herself to the higher echelons of society. Among the vaguely decent characters are Becky’s friend Amelia (Claudia Jessie). Pretty much everyone else is awful.
Sets and costumes: Filming took place at more than 30 locations across England, including London’s Fitzroy Square and Lancaster House, and in Hungary’s capital Budapest. Costumes are colourful and fun, with lots of bonnets, corsets, feathers and glorious wigs.
Bodice-ripper moment: A passionate smooch between Becky and love interest Rawdon (Tom Bateman).
Best bit: The modern soundtrack with pop music.
Worst bit: A CGI background of London won criticism.
