Miss Scarlet and The Duke

Miss Scarlet and The Duke
Genre	Crime drama Period drama
Created by	Rachael New
Starring	Kate Phillips Stuart Martin Ansu Kabia Cathy Belton
Country of origin	United Kingdom United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of series	3
No. of episodes	18 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Todd Berger Patrick Irwin Jin Ishimoto Patty Ishimoto Harvey Myman Rachael New Declan O'Dwyer
Producer(s)	Aaron Farrell
Production location(s)	Ireland (series 1) Serbia (series 2– )
Running time	60 minutes
Production company(s)	Element 8 Entertainment A+E Networks UK GBH Boston Shinawil (series 1) 87 Films (series 2– ) Other Mans Shoes (series 4– ) Work in Progress (series 4– )
Release
Original network	Alibi (UK/Ireland) PBS (US)
Picture format	1080i
Audio format	5.1 surround sound
Original release	31 March 2020 (2020-03-31) – present
External links
[{{#property:P856}} Website]

Miss Scarlet and The Duke is a British-American period crime television drama created by Rachael New, starring Kate Phillips and Stuart Martin as the title characters, two Victorian detectives.

The first series began broadcasting on Alibi on 31 March 2020 and premiered in the US on 17 January 2021, as part of PBS's Masterpiece anthology series. Miss Scarlet and The Duke was the first series that PBS purchased from, or co-produced with, a British channel other than the BBC, Channel 4, or ITV. In Canada, it is available on CBC Gem.

A second series was announced by PBS on 29 March 2021 and started airing on Alibi on 14 June 2022, while the PBS run started on 16 October 2022.

The show was later renewed for series three and four, with series three premiering on PBS on 8 January 2023.

Plot and characters

In Victorian London, 1882, Eliza Scarlet is left almost penniless when her father, Henry, unexpectedly dies. Although marriage would appear to be her only option for financial security, Eliza resolves to take over her father's detective agency alone, working under his name. Struggling to build her reputation in the male-dominated world of crime-solving, she frequently calls on her childhood friend William Wellington, a gruff Scottish detective inspector of Scotland Yard, for assistance.

William is known in the police force as "The Duke" or simply "Duke", a nickname referring to the Duke of Wellington. Eliza's late father Henry saved William from the Glasgow streets as a child, and later mentored him as he trained as a policeman. As a result, William looked up to Henry as a father figure. William once kissed Eliza following her mother's death, which he characterises as "a chaste kiss", to her annoyance. Though he is irritated by Eliza's detective aspirations, he cares for her and gradually begins to show respect for her skills.

Eliza also befriends Rupert Parker, a wealthy man who provides her with direly needed loans. Rupert is the bachelor (and secretly gay) son of Mrs. Parker, a rich landlady who owns Eliza's home, and relies on Eliza's advice to navigate his personal life. Eliza lives with her housekeeper, Ivy, who helped raise her after Eliza's mother died (some time before the series begins). Eliza and William bicker and argue constantly, but also share moments of subtle flirtation and care for each other deeply.

Series writer and creator Rachael New took inspiration for Eliza's character from Elizabeth Bennet, the heroine of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Born into a middle-class family, Eliza uses her appearance as a refined Victorian lady to her advantage; both clients and suspects underestimate her and she frequently relies on this, her wits, and her father's training to solve cases. William and Eliza work on several cases together, though she is uncredited, causing disputes between them. Eliza also relies on a black criminal, Moses, for help dealing with the dangerous underworld of London. Moses is amused by Eliza's gumption, and they connect as outsiders to society.

Cast

Overview

Actor	Character	Occupation	Series
			1	2	3
Kate Phillips	Eliza Scarlet	Private detective	Main
Stuart Martin	William "Duke" Wellington	Police detective inspector	Main
Ansu Kabia	Moses Valentine	Petty criminal; Eliza's associate	Main
Cathy Belton	Ivy Woods	Housekeeper	Main
Simon Ludders	Mr Potts	Coroner	Regular		Guest
Kevin Doyle	Henry Scarlet	Private detective	Regular	Does not appear
Andrew Gower	Rupert Parker	Businessman	Regular	Does not appear
Matthew Malone	Clarence Honeychurch	Police constable	Regular	Does not appear
Danny Midwinter	Frank Jenkins	Police detective sergeant	Regular	Does not appear
Nick Dunning	Stirling	Police superintendent	Regular	Does not appear
Richard Evans	Herr Hildegard	Funeral director	Regular	Does not appear
Amy McAllister	Tilly Hildegard		Regular	Does not appear
Ian Pirie	Monro	Police superintendent	Does not appear	Regular
Evan McCabe	Oliver Fitzroy	Police detective	Does not appear	Regular
Tim Chipping	Phelps	Police detective sergeant	Does not appear	Regular
Jessie Cave	Harriet "Hattie" Parker	Lady's companion	Does not appear	Regular	Does not appear
Felix Scott	Patrick Nash	Private detective	Does not appear	Recurring	Regular
Brian Bovell	Solomon	Shopkeeper	Does not appear	Guest	Regular
Sophie Robertson	Arabella Acaster	Restaurant owner	Does not appear		Regular
Helen Norton	Mrs Parker	Landlady	Recurring		Does not appear
Oliver Chris	Basil Sinclaire	Journalist	Does not appear	Recurring	Guest
Laura Rollins	Clementine	Sex worker	Does not appear	Recurring

Detective agency

• Kate Phillips as Eliza Scarlet, an ambitious young woman who takes over her late father's detective agency
• Ansu Kabia as Moses Valentine, a Jamaican British petty criminal whom Eliza frequently hires as an assistant, informant, or debt collector
• Kevin Doyle as Henry Scarlet (series 1), Eliza's father and William's mentor
• Andrew Gower as Rupert Parker (series 1), Eliza's friend and investor

Police officials

• Stuart Martin as William "Duke" Wellington, a detective inspector with the Metropolitan Police
• Simon Ludders as Mr Potts (series 1–2, guest series 3), a city coroner, who antagonises Eliza but later romantically pursues Ivy
• Matthew Malone as Clarence Honeychurch (series 1), a police constable
• Danny Midwinter as Frank Jenkins (series 1), William's assistant, a detective sergeant
• Nick Dunning as Superintendent Stirling (series 1), William's supervisor
• Ian Pirie as Superintendent Monro (series 2– ), Stirling's successor
• Evan McCabe as Oliver Fitzroy (series 2– ), a new and untested detective, and the son of the police commissioner
• Tim Chipping as DS Phelps (series 2– ), a harsh colleague of William's

Associates

• Cathy Belton as Ivy Woods, Eliza's housekeeper
• Richard Evans as Herr Hildegard (series 1), a funeral director who works near Eliza's office
• Amy McAllister as Tilly Hildegard (series 1), Herr Hildegard's German niece, who pursues and eventually marries Rupert
• Jessie Cave as Harriet "Hattie" Parker (series 2), Mrs Parker's niece and companion
• Felix Scott as Patrick Nash (recurring, series 2; regular, series 3– ), another private detective
• Brian Bovell as Solomon (guest, series 2; regular, series 3– ), a shopkeeper specialising in exotic poisons
• Sophie Robertson as Arabella Acaster (series 3– ), an old schoolmate who bullied Eliza as a child
• Helen Norton as Mrs Parker (recurring, series 1–2), Eliza's landlady and Rupert's mother
• Oliver Chris as Basil Sinclaire (recurring, series 2– ), a journalist specialising in sensational crime stories
• Laura Rollins as Clementine (recurring, series 2– ), a prostitute and friend of Moses', occasionally hired by Eliza for various tasks

Episodes

Series 1 (2020)

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
1	"Inheritance"	Declan O'Dwyer	Rachael New	31 March 2020 (2020-03-31)
After the death of her ailing private detective father, Eliza Scarlet is forced to take on a missing persons case to pay his debts, but the investigation is complicated when she realizes that her client, a seasoned conman, has manipulated her to gain control of his wife's inheritance. With the aid of her father's old protégé, Detective Inspector William "Duke" Wellington, and local criminal Moses Valentine, Eliza proves that her client is a bigamist and apprehends him, enabling his wife to regain her inheritance and her freedom.
2	"The Woman in Red"	Declan O'Dwyer	Rachael New	7 April 2020 (2020-04-07)
Eliza's landlady, enraged by the former's refusal to marry her son, calls in the unpaid lease she owes for her ancestral home. Eliza gets herself hired to investigate a murder - only to learn that the dead man committed suicide and that the "murderer" was framed by his wife after she uncovered his homosexuality. With help from Moses, she obtains the necessary evidence to clear the man's name seconds before his execution. Eliza subsequently hires Moses to collect payment from a difficult former client and pays off the lease in full.
3	"Deeds Not Words"	Declan O'Dwyer	Rachael New	14 April 2020 (2020-04-14)
Duke hires Eliza to go undercover and infiltrate a women's suffrage group campaigning for the vote, where she finds the leader is willing to go to any means to justify the ends.
4	"Memento Mori"	Declan O'Dwyer	Ben Edwards	21 April 2020 (2020-04-21)
Eliza finds herself contacted by a death photographer who seems to be receiving bizarre and threatening messages from beyond the grave. She later makes a surprising discovery about her father and realises that Duke is taking the credit for solving cases that she herself has solved.
5	"Cell 99"	Declan O'Dwyer	Ben Edwards	28 April 2020 (2020-04-28)
Eliza's discovery of her father's casebook leads her to an abandoned prison on the outskirts of London. She and William investigate what seems like an empty building, but they soon discover that it is the hideout for a criminal gang. William believes Moses is involved, but Eliza defends him.
6	"The Case of Henry Scarlet"	Declan O'Dwyer	Rachael New	5 May 2020 (2020-05-05)
Eliza discovers that her father's death may have been murder. With time running out, she has to solve a perplexing puzzle. Moses tells her that William is not the man she thinks he is.

Series 2 (2022)

No. overall	No. in series	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
7	1	"Pandora's Box"	Steve Hughes	Rachael New	14 June 2022 (2022-06-14)
Eliza is hired to investigate the disappearance of a young woman who works at Wentworth's department store: a case which has already been dismissed by Duke.
8	2	"The Black Witch Moth"	Steve Hughes	Rachael New	21 June 2022 (2022-06-21)
Eliza is hired by an insurance company to investigate the disappearance of a rare sketch by Charles Darwin, but the case becomes more complicated when it turns out the insurance company that hired her doesn't exist.
9	3	"A Pauper's Grave"	Steve Hughes	Rachael New	28 June 2022 (2022-06-28)
Eliza is accused of breaking into the city morgue and stealing files when her mother's ring is found there, but the subsequent investigation reveals ties to a series of past thefts.
10	4	"Angel of Inferno"	Ivan Zivkovic	Rachael New	5 July 2022 (2022-07-05)
Eliza is hired by a quack doctor to investigate a blackmail case. Meanwhile, rival private detective Patrick Nash tries to force her to join his agency.
11	5	"Quarter to Midnight"	Ivan Zivkovic	Ben Edwards	12 July 2022 (2022-07-12)
Duke is offered a promotion to chief inspector that would require him to transfer to Glasgow, while Eliza discovers two murders were inspired by a crime novel.
12	6	"The Proposal"	Ivan Zivkovic	Ben Edwards, Rachael New	19 July 2022 (2022-07-19)
After Nash is injured in a murder attempt, he hires Eliza to find the man responsible. Forced to accept the position in Glasgow, Duke struggles to train Oliver Fitzroy, the police commissioner's son, as his replacement.

Series 3 (2023)

No. overall	No. in series	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
13	1	"The Vanishing"	Steve Hughes	TBA	8 January 2023 (2023-01-08)
Eliza is hired to investigate the disappearance of a magician, unaware that William is also on the case. William tries to quash leaked case information to the press.
14	2	"Arabella"	Steve Hughes	TBA	15 January 2023 (2023-01-15)
William and Eliza investigate a series of thefts which happened at a local restaurant. Eliza bumps into someone from her past, causing her to suspect their involvement in the crimes.
15	3	"Hotel St Marc"	Rachael New	TBA	22 January 2023 (2023-01-22)
Eliza is on the trail of a notorious conman and tracks him down to a hotel in a remote part of France. She believes she has finally caught Scotland Yard’s most wanted man, but she’s not the only hotel guest who wants to claim the reward.
16	4	"Bloodline"	Ivan Zivkovic	TBA	29 January 2023 (2023-01-29)
Detective Fitzroy sees one of his colleagues plant evidence on a suspect. With Duke away, Fitzroy turns to Eliza and hires her to look into a case of police corruption.
17	5	"The Heir"	Steve Hughes	Dan Muirden	5 February 2023 (2023-02-05)
Eliza is on the verge of earning life-changing money when she offers to help the heir to an unclaimed fortune. It’s a race against time to claim the money and Eliza will need Duke’s help, but a revelation about his personal life makes working together impossible.
18	6	"The Jewel of the North"	Steve Hughes	TBA	12 February 2023 (2023-02-12)
Eliza receives a bomb in the mail. She teams up with Duke, Moses and her old enemy Patrick Nash to find out who is behind the deadly delivery.

Production

Although set in London, the first series was shot in Dublin, Ireland. The street where Eliza Scarlet lives is Mount Pleasant Square, Ranelagh, Dublin 6. The distinctive green dome of Mary Immaculate, Refuge of Sinners Church, Rathmines is visible in some street scenes. The police station where the Duke works is the CBS Westland Row in Cumberland Street. Although part of the skyline is CGI, including the train tunnel arches which are not open in reality, there is a railway station, Pearse Station behind the school with St Andrew's Church alongside.

As of series 2, production moved to Belgrade, Serbia, where it remains as of series 4.

External links

• Miss Scarlet and The Duke at IMDb

• Miss Scarlet and The Duke at IMDb