I have to admit, one of the only reasons I watched this is because I'm a huge fan of Romola Garai, but after the first episode I was completely hooked. It's well worth watching even if you don't care at all for any of the actors because everything about it is superb. The Crimson Petal and the White is based on a neo-Victorian novel by the stupendous writer Michel Faber. The wonderful thing about neo-Victorian works is that they can revisit the Victorian age without being constrained by all the things that the Victorians liked to keep under wraps, like frank sexual talk. This comes in handy in The Crimson Petal and the White which is focused a great deal on sex and sexuality. The main character is Sugar (Romola Garai, fantastic as always), a prostitute who has been working in the trade since she hit puberty (or maybe even before). Sugar has a deep distaste for men (she's working on a fantasy novel in which she tortures, maims, and kills her clients), but is well renowned because of her willingness to do anything (sexually speaking). She attracts the attention of William Rackham (Chris O'Dowd), a bumbling entrepreneur trapped in an unhappy marriage who is actually attracted to Sugar's mind as well as her body as she is self-educated and extremely literate and they both are well read. The more time Sugar and Rackham spend together the more they become obsessed with one another which leads to Sugar becoming more involved in Rackham's business and Rackham becoming concerned with keeping Sugar to himself. There is a lot more to the plot than that, but it's a wonderful tale. The aspects of Sugar and Rackham's personalities are set down early, and as the story unfolds we see these aspects play out. Sugar, who is tough minded and hard, is also incredibly smart, has the capacity to grow and change and also to love. Rackham is weak and selfish and these aspects are exposed as he faces difficult decision after difficult decision. The cast is excellent (special shoutout here to Chris O'Down whom I had previously only seen acting in comedies. He handles the darker material with ease putting to rest that lie about comedians not being able to handle anything but comedy). Beautifully shot and excellent costumes as you would expect from a BBC drama.

Ah, THE CRIMSON PETAL AND THE WHITE, what a load of rot. The story concerns the brilliant Victorian prostitute Sugar (Romola Garai) who becomes mistress to (her sugar-daddy?) William Rackham (Chris O'Dowd).Romola Garai mugs her pretty little heart out but remains fundamentally unconvincing as a bewitching prostitute. Chris O'Dowd apparently doesn't know how to shave or how to do any accent but his native Irish. Lots of other people turn up but they are even more boring than the two leads. Special mention must be made of Mark Gatiss who continues to play the same part in every TV drama he's in.The plot is post-Victorian. Which is to say that it is purest Victorian melodrama but with extra shagging. Being post-Victorian also means that the male characters are all weirdos, wussbags or fools. The women in contrast are wise or mysterious or victimised. Even the prostitutes turn out to be remarkably well read.Much has been made of the seedy atmosphere, sets and costuming. I disagree. This underworld is treated in a voyeuristic manner- most notably in the first episode where a single shot takes in grotesquely fat and urinating prostitutes in the nuddy. The over-use of skinny kids, beaten prossies and lunatics makes it appear that there are no normal people in London and robs the series of any reality. Without the solid sense of reality it was impossible to take anything seriously. Give me Charlie Dickens anyday.

As a fan of Victorian-era drama, this 4-part adaptation of a Michel Faber book of the same name is right up my street. It is the story of a London prostitute called Sugar (played by Romola Garai) who takes the fancy of a well-to-do merchant Mr Rackham (Chris O'Dowd) and how their relationship develops. What starts of as a purely sexual thing, soon become much more than that and Sugar becomes increasingly involved in Mr Rackham's home and business life. The whole production is fantastic - from the stylistic direction right down to the set design, costumes, music and acting. Romola Garia and Chris O'Dowd particularly stand out, as does Amanda Hale as the mentally disturbed wife. I have just finished watching the 3rd episode and did not want it to end, it was that gripping. I can't wait to read the book and only hope it is half as good as this series. I will definitely buy this when it comes out on DVD and watch it again. All in all, highly recommended!

Addictive, and not in a bad way. Sooo rich in character and setting. You feel dirty when you see the homeless old men, hopeless, skinny children, and the mentally gone, all whose skin is the same color as the coal smoke filth of London. You smell the urine in the streets as you follow Sugar from her whorehouse to the market. The whores you meet are vacant, empty souls eaten by diseases and beaten to pulp by cowardly customers.There isn't anyone good in this story, but they're all marvelous.Sugar plots imaginary revenge against her johns, and it's such a pleasure to see that she has some power, if only in her mind, over her miserable world.