Harlots

A raunchy new period drama delves into the shady world of prostitution in the 18th Century

A raunchy new period drama delves into the shady world of prostitution in the 18th Century.

It centres on two madams, the struggling Margaret Wells (Samantha Morton) and the upmarket Lydia Quigley (Lesley Manville).

When Margaret sets her sights on moving up in the world, Lydia sees to it that police and zealots raid her rival's brothel, and a turf war ensues.

Downton's Jessica Brown Findlay also stars in this drama written and produced by an all-female team and promising 'a whore's-eye view' of London in the Georgian era, when one in five women made a living selling sex.