A Tale of Two Hughs: Downton Abbey's Hugh Bonneville and Hugh Dancy Star in Daniel Deronda

ONE TV is your home for great British period dramas! We’ve got another fantastic new series on the way that is sure to satisfy your craving for the glamour and intrigue of Victorian high society. The four episode BBC limited series Daniel Deronda premieres Monday, January 23 at 6pm ET.

Based on George Eliot’s last and most ambitious novel, the BAFTA-winning series charts a love story set in Victorian high society. Gwendolen Harleth (Romola Garai) falls in love with the idealistic Daniel Deronda (Hugh Dancy), but they couldn’t be more different. She is outwardly alluring, vivacious and selfish. He is sensitive and caring. When Gwendolen is forced by circumstances into an oppressive marriage, Daniel becomes involved with a talented singer whose Jewish heritage influences Daniel to explore his own past. Torn between the two women, Daniel embarks on a quest to discover his true identity. Fate however, leads to a surprising twist.

While the series centers around Daniel’s romantic pursuits, it also follows his journey of self-discovery. Daniel was raised by his uncle and knows nothing of his birth parents. When he meets the singer Mirah Lapidoth (Jodhi May), Daniel is led to explore London’s Jewish community to find the answers he’s been searching for his whole life. Will Daniel’s past fall into place and influence his future in both life and love?

The series is written by Andrew Davies, who also created Sanditon, currently airing on ONETV, and wrote the beloved 2001 rom-com Bridget Jones’s Diary. The Emmy-nominated Hugh Dancy is the leading man as the charismatic Daniel Deronda, while the Emmy and BAFTA-nominated Hugh Bonneville, who you will most likely recognize from the more recent BBC hit series Downton Abbey, plays the villain Henleigh Grandcourt, a cold and calculating aristocrat who will do anything to thwart Daniel’s pursuit of Gwendolen for his own personal gain.

Like Bonneville, Dancy has a taste for performing in period dramas, having starred in the BBC adaptations for Madame Bovary and David Copperfield. Most recently, he has joined Hugh Bonneville in Downton Abbey: A New Era, the second feature film sequel to the Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning series.

Daniel Deronda will air Monday through Thursday at 6pm ET & Midnight ET from January 23 – 27, 2023 on ONETV while ONETV is free preview across Canada. Watch on Bell 606, Bell Fibe 1606, Rogers 265, Ignite 340 (or say “ONE TV”), Shaw Direct 430, Shaw BlueCurve 524, Cogeco 798, Eastlink 659 or visit our Subscribe page to find your channel.

If you miss it in January, Daniel Deronda will encore weekdays at 6pm & Midnight ET from Feb. 17 – 22 and March 22 – 27, 2023.