Un amour qui tue

The votes say it all. This is an astonishing piece of TV drama. Diana Rigg gives the performance of a lifetime as the monstrously possessive mother, switching from poised charmer to wicked schemer and demented mother with no more than the flick of an eyebrow. The witty and literate script is by Andrew Davies - I saw Mother Love as part of an Andrew Davies season on a new BBC digital channel - and the direction by Simon Langton drives the plot relentlessly forward, keeping the viewer on the edge of the seat, with clenched fists and sweaty palms, never sure what will happen next.

The other main roles - James Wilby, Isla Blair, James Grout and David McCallum - are realistic and provide able foils for Rigg. But it is Diana Rigg's role with her chilling personality, cleverly reinforced with flashbacks to a terrible childhood incident, and her wonderful over-the-top dialogue, which makes this a memorable thriller and a 'must-watch' television masterpiece.

Diana Rigg is outstanding as the deranged and possessive Helena Vesey in this marvellous BBC mini-series of 1989. It is a role that, I believe, won her a British Academy Award (BAFTA). It is hard to remember anyone who managed to be so funny, scary and mesmerising than Ms Rigg as this indelible protagonist, who brings the superb dialogue to life - "Laburnum! Such a pretty tree... and so many of them!"; "Treachery, disloyalty... are the most DREADFUL of crimes. And deserve the severest punishment!"; and "Ha ha ha! HERE's Mr Tiger!". This series is sometimes repeated on Sky's UK Gold channel - make sure you see it!

Diana Rigg will scare you under the carpet in this story of "treachery, disloyalty" and family ties. A simple lie, Helena's son keeping in touch with his father but not telling his mother, spins wildly out of control, while Helena gradually suspects that her family are keeping information from her. The cleverly-constructed back story, showing that Helena was capable of terrible things as a child, cranks up the tension and gives a sense of terrible foreboding. Helena's paranoia and loneliness take over, creating a horrible revenge.

Almost camp in some scenes, (calling everyone "darling", giving her family nicknames and shopping at Fortnums), Diana Rigg gives an intense performance full of pain at the upsets of her past life and full of hatred at her ex-husband. She definitely deserved her Bafta award.

Diana Rigg, playing Helena, has the performance of her life here as the tightly wound mother of the title who gradually comes to the realization that her ex-husband, whom she despises, has been secretly seeing her son for years behind her back.

Through a series of flashbacks we see Helena, as a child, committing a horrendous crime when she perceives disloyalty from her best friend. Disloyalty to Helena is one of the worse things one can do.

When she accidentally discovers that her cousin George has been disloyal, she punishes him also so that he winds up in jail for a crime he did not commit.

To the world Helena is perfectly groomed and poised but underneath she is a seething mass of resentment, barely contained until one final incident sends her over the top into a raging frenzy - "I gave you life and I can take it away". Chilling.

Everything about this series is perfect, the rest of the cast (David McCallum,James Wilby, James Grout, Isla Blair) are superb also. Wonderful script. Not a false note. The tension just builds and builds until at the end you feel you have run a marathon.

10 out of 10.

I was riveted to the television set for all 3 nights of the series.

Not only was Diana Rigg's performance a tour de force, but the script itself was a true psychological thriller, beautifully written - I could actually believe there is a mother somewhere who could be so unhinged yet appear so normal. I did wonder about the author's own mother.

The flashbacks to "Mother's" childhood provided an extra dimension without totally explaining her future behavior, which really worked for me - I find too much exposition can spoil the punchline.

During the final half hour, no phone calls were answered, no trips were made to the frig, no cats were let out, no dogs were let in...I think you get the picture.