TV Scoop Review: Affinity, ITV1, Sunday 28 December, 9pm

Fans of Sarah Waters will know that the likes of Fingersmith and, especially, Tipping The Velvet provoked much frothing of the mouth in the red-top press, thanks to delicious, saucy helpings of corseted girl-on-girl action. You kind of expect that reaction from the likes of The Sun et al, but I've always thought that prurient lot has always missed the point a bit - Sarah Waters' stuff is full of melodrama, period detail and as much love story content as a Pride & Prejudice.

The last two Waters' adaptations have been on the BBC, but for this adaptation of Affinity - Waters' second novel - it was ITV1's turn to have a crack at it all. The channel also employed the don of the classical adaptation, Andrew Davies, to turn get it all ship-shaped for TV.

As ever in Waters' work, it was back into the 19th century. To help us set the scene, we met young London lady from the upper classes - Margaret Prior (Anna Madeley) - who had, she explained, recently lost her father. She was throwing herself into a new project - to visit and observe the women of Millbank gaol. During her visits, she became friendly with one of women in particular, a spirit medium inmate called Selena Dawes (Zoe Tapper, soon to be seen in the imminent Demons).

We saw Margaret at home with her over-bearing mother who wanted her to marry and couldn't understand why she wasn't keen, Margaret with her over-bearing and over-bearded boyfriend (his name was Theopolis, which I thought was quite cool) who also thought she should marry (preferably him).

To get away from this drudgery she increased her visits to the prison and her friendship with Selena, despite warnings from the warden not to get too close and give too much information, started to strengthen. As did Selena's backstory, told in flashbacks. A shit-hot medium of some repute, Selena was put inside when she killed a young woman. She claimed it was the work of an evil spirit called Peter Quick, and we saw him with his big top hat and moustache during some of the dramatised séance scenes. Some of these dramatised scenes were quite kinky, with Selena/Peter seducing young, vulnerable and corseted potential mediums by getting them to repeat the mantra "I may be used" over and over and getting them to wear a blindfold, while Mr Quick had his wicked way with them. Yes, the argument as to whether Sarah Waters is a kinky, Victorian-styled Louisa Bradshaw for gay women still rages...

Anyway, thanks to the use of flashbacks both Selena and Margaret's past unravelled, as well as their futures. It turned out the reason why Margaret was so against marriage was because she batted for the other side, and carried around with her a lock of hair from a childhood sweetheart. Selena, sensing things as she did, felt that Margaret was holding onto her grief and convinced her to give her the locket. Margaret had given herself to Selena, which, as it turned out was a bad idea.

Just to make sure she was under her spell, a bunch of orange blossom appeared out of nowhere in her bedroom (Selena liked orange blossom), and a lock of Selena's hair appeared on Margaret's pillow. These little stunts drew the vulnerable Margaret into her web hook, line and sinker.

The outcome was predictable, but the journey getting to Selena's final act of treachery was fun and very nice to look at. The Victorian age was brought to life nicely, and the set and costume design were spectacular - the moment where Margaret had to climb a set of wooden stairs to get to a draw on a shelf in the biggest skirt I have ever scene certainly raised an eyebrow.

Ultimately, when Selena convinced Margaret to withdraw money and get ready to elope to Rome or Venice with her (only to escape from prison and clear her out during the night), you sort of realised that the whole thing was a literal metaphor for a gay woman's life in the Victorian age (indeed gay men too) - trapped in a prison, in a life none of them wanted.

So oodles of Victorian period sauce and melodrama, and some good performances by Zoe Tapper (my goodness she's nice) and Anna Madeley, made this a very watchable and enjoyable diversion.

Posted by paulhirons on December 29, 2008

Original article here.