Perfect Strangers is a television drama that ran from 10 to 24 May 2001, produced for BBC Two. It was written and directed by Stephen Poliakoff, and starred Michael Gambon, who won a British Academy Television Award for his performance, Lindsay Duncan, Matthew Macfadyen, Claire Skinner, and Toby Stephens. Anton Lesser and Timothy Spall also appear. The drama received two Royal Television Society Awards and a Peabody Award. It was also nominated for the BAFTA TV Award for Best Drama Serial.
The action takes place at and between two large family reunions, one at a London hotel (with significant parts filmed in Claridge's.) and the other at a rural conference centre once owned by the family. Poliakoff's use of old photographs to unlock the intricacies of individuals' lives is prolific.
In 2025, the BBC broadcast a 15 minute programme Stephen Poliakoff Remembers... Perfect Strangers, in which he discussed making the series.
Summary The series begins at a family reunion of considerably more than a hundred guests, drawing together the extended branches of the Symon family. Raymond Symon (Michael Gambon) reluctantly attends with his wife Esther (Jill Baker) and son Daniel (Matthew Macfadyen). Raymond's father Lionel (Jay Simon) became estranged from the rest of the family, as did Raymond, meaning that Daniel is unaware of the sprawl of his extended family. Raymond suffers a minor stroke just after giving a withering speech to those attending the reunion. His subsequent bedridden state forces him to appreciate the character of relatives that reflect his.
The stories Daniel learns about his family's past are episodic and non-linear, from his mysterious presence in a photograph taken at a children's party that he can't remember attending, to the wartime experiences of three distant elderly cousins. An important plot strand concentrates on a rift between the cousins Rebecca (Claire Skinner) and Charles (Toby Stephens) and their aunt Alice (Lindsay Duncan), who had been a pseudo-mother to them and their brother Richard (JJ Feild). The trio distanced themselves from Richard when his mental illness worsened and - after his sudden accidental death - Rebecca blamed Alice and Alice blamed herself, leading them to grow apart.
Daniel attempts to reconcile the trio, whilst also falling in love with Rebecca. His efforts culminate at another family reunion, this time in the garden of a former rural residence of the family - they are unsuccessful, though it seems that Alice's heartfelt tribute to Richard in her dinner toast at the reunion might yet lead Rebecca to forgive her. At this second reunion Raymond also discovers an affair between Lionel and another family member, much of which occurred in an office with a painting resembling Daniel's party photograph. He realises that in old age Lionel had invited Daniel to a party at his erstwhile lover's house and dressed him to resemble the painting as a sign that Lionel still loved her.
Cast Michael Gambon ... Raymond Lindsay Duncan ... Alice Matthew Macfadyen ... Daniel Claire Skinner ... Rebecca Toby Stephens ... Charles Jill Baker ... Esther Timothy Spall ... Irving Anton Lesser ... Stephen Michael Culkin ... Sidney Kelly Hunter ... Poppy Kathleen Byron ... Edith Muriel Pavlow ... Violet Sheila Burrell ... Grace Peter Howell ... Ernest Tony Maudsley ... Peter Camilla Power ... Martina Marianne Borgo ... Nazik
Awards
Award Year Type Person(s) Category BAFTA TV Award 2002 Nominee Lindsay Duncan Best Actress BAFTA TV Award 2002 Winner Michael Gambon Best Actor BAFTA TV Award 2002 Nominee John Chapman; Stephen Poliakoff Best Drama Serial BAFTA TV Award 2002 Nominee Paul Tothill Best Editing (Fiction/Entertainment) BAFTA TV Award 2002 Nominee Adrian Johnston Best Original Television Music BAFTA TV Award 2002 Nominee Cinders Forshaw Best Photography & Lighting (Fiction/Entertainment) International Emmy 2002 Nominee — TV Series Peabody Awards 2003 Winner — — Royal Television Society 2002 Winner — Best Serial and TV Drama Royal Television Society 2002 Winner Stephen Poliakoff Best Writer Royal Television Society 2002 Nominee Anushia Nieradzik Best Costume Design Royal Television Society 2002 Nominee Dorka Nieradzik Best Make Up Design Royal Television Society 2002 Nominee Paul Tothill Best Editing
Notes
References
External links
SFGate review "A brilliant family plot from Britain"