Bel Ami (British TV series)

Bel Ami is a British five part television costume drama based on the 1885 French novel Bel-Ami by Guy de Maupassant.^[1] It aired in 1971 on BBC 2.^[2] The series starred Robin Ellis as Georges Duroy, Suzanne Neve as Madeleine Forestier, Garfield Morgan as Jacques Rivat, Elvi Hale as Clotilde de Marelle, Margaret Courtenay as Madame Walter, John Bryans as Monsieur Walter, Maurice Quick as Duroy's manservant, Peter Sallis as Norbert de Varenne, James Cossins as Forestier and Arthur Pentelow as Tattel.^[3][1][4] British television historian Claire Monk wrote, "BBC Two's five-part Bel Ami indicatively exhibited the sexual attitudes of its time in its makers' insistence that the story of penniless opportunist Georges Duroy— a social outsider in Parisian society who ruthlessly uses sex to pursue his ambitions— as basically a comedy with the charms of a fantasy world."^[2]

Cast

• Robin Ellis as Georges Duroy
• Suzanne Neve as Madeleine Forestier
• Garfield Morgan as Jacques Rivat
• Elvi Hale as Clotilde de Marelle
• Margaret Courtenay as Madame Walter
• John Bryans as Monsieur Walter
• Maurice Quick as Manservant/Duroy's Manservant
• Peter Sallis as Norbert de Varenne
• James Cossins as Forestier
• Arthur Pentelow as Tattle
• Wendy Allnutt as Suzanne Walter
• Michael Gover as M Larache-Mathieu
• John Wentworth as Comte de Vaudrec
• Mitzi Rogers as Rachel^[5][6][7]

Episodes

All five episodes from the series aired on BBC Two in colour from 8 May 1971 - 5 June 1971. The series is completely intact although none of the episodes have been released on VHS, DVD or any other home media platforms.^[8] The series is also not available to watch anywhere.^[9]

1. "Georges" (8 May 1971)
2. "Clotilde" (15 May 1971)
3. "Madeleine" (22 May 1971)
4. "Virginie" (29 May 1971)
5. "Suzanne" (5 June 1971)