Outrageous

Outrageous is a long-overdue dramatisation of the Mitford sisters, bringing to life one of the most extraordinary and divisive families in 20th-century Britain. Set against the backdrop of a country on the brink of war, the show cleverly frames the story through Nancy's eyes, allowing for a rich, intimate view of the family's tangled dynamics rather than a dry historical checklist. The acting and casting are superb, each sister is pitch-perfect, capturing their eccentricities and contradictions with warmth, sharpness and real emotional weight. Even moments I thought I knew surprised me in performance. My only complaint is that we don't have a second series yet. It's brilliantly addictive, almost impossible not to binge in one go.

This drama portrays life in the 1930s of the extraordinary Mitford family.

In fact it could have been called Extraordinary rather than Outrageous.

The protagonist is Nancy Mitford who became an established author.

The telling of their lives underlines just how autobiographical Nancy's most famous publications really are, The Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate.

Their pursuit of love wasn't really love at all, it was the pursuit of an eligible men with an income that would keep the Mitford sisters in the style of life to which they were accustomed.

As such, in the 1930s, they had very little to offer and their whole existence seemed to be aimed at "coming out" or presented to society at the annual debutants ball.

Very shallow indeed, but these were not ordinary women they held very strong views not always in alignment with one another, so much so that Unity and Diana finding themselves embroiled in Fascism.

Anyway, it is a good drama and is enhanced with a mainly unfamiliar cast. Only Anna Chancellor, as the mother, being instantly recognizable.

It's easy to dismiss the Mitfords as posh, privileged and irrelevant, but that would be a mistake. The main theme of the first series, which only goes up to 1937, is the issue of how people can easily get swept up into extremist movements, which is just as relevant today as it was in the 1930s.

As others say, truth is stranger than fiction. If this had been presented as fictional, you'd say it was implausible, but almost everything described in the series really happened (though at least one of the characters is an invention). And what happens next, which we will probably see in the inevitable series 2, is even more shocking. It's remarkable that anyone could describe this story as boring. I suppose there are no car chases or shoot-outs.

The production is good (houses, cars, dresses...) although some of the scenes supposedly set in Germany are not very convincing. The acting performances are strong, considering how difficult these roles are to play. Kudos to the brave girls who took on the challenging roles of Diana and Unity.

This is a fantastic series telling the true story of the six Mitford sisters. One a famous author, two famous nazi lovers.

There is some great acting from most of the cast - the actresses playing Unity and Diana not so great. The real Diana was a renowned beauty and blindly admired Hitler. We don't see her beauty here. The peroxide blonde gives us a wooden performance and she delivers her lines in a monotone way. She doesn't move her face or mouth, maybe worrying about messing up her make up. The other sisters have great speaking voices but this actress attempts a cut glass accent and it doesn't work. Another actress would have portrayed her in a more natural way.

Nancy, the narrator is my favourite. A brilliant actress giving a natural performance.

The Battle of Cable Street put an end to Moseley's vision of a facist England.

Let me get one thing out of the way first. They can never get the hairstyles right in these period pieces. I read once that art evaluators always look at the hair first when trying to see if a painting is fake; counterfeiters just can't get it right. Nor can modern hairstylists. The sisters' hair was completely anomalous.

And now, why was it sanitised? Nancy, who narrated the series was cast as a wise elder sister on good terms with all of her siblings to begin with. In fact she bullied them terribly, even into adulthood with a waspish wit and sarcasm.

Tom was a fascist but portrayed as a good egg in the series; he even refused to fight against Germany.

Muv was a fascist in real life. So deep were her leanings that she separated from Farve because of his patriotism for the UK. Yet in the series she's portrayed as a gentle, mother goddess with no political views, indeed, if anything, shocked at the doings of her two fascist and Nazi daughters.

Pam was a virulent anti-Semite who stated, along with her husband, on many occasions that all Jews should be killed. Yet she's portrayed as a jolly hockey sticks hoyden and a sympathetic character.

Unity was a Nazi and that was made clear in the show. But for goodness sake! They brought modern psychology into it. The actress playing her had clearly been directed to play her as neurodivergent.

Jessica and Diana seemed to be the only ones who were, more or less, true to life.

Someone of my age and generation would know about this family from parents, newspapers, Nancy's novels and Jessica's work. They were a pretty gruesome bunch. Perhaps historical accuracy would have made the series far too depressing.

As it was, I watched the lot in 24 hours. I enjoyed it but I felt disappointed and had a sense that an opportunity was missed. I am nonetheless looking forward to the second season.

A bit of a mixed review, I'm afraid. I'd say watch it but with no great expectations.