Mapp & Lucia (2014)

Steve Pemberton's gorgeous new adaptation of author EF Benson's Mapp and Lucia stories is so delicious in every detail you won't be able to stop after just one episode.

Like a massive box of luxury ­chocolates you'll want to devour another one as soon as the first is over, so thank you to the BBC for ­scheduling the three episodes on consecutive nights - ending on New Year's Eve - so you don't have too long to wait.

And when that's over, you'll ­probably want to track down the Channel 4 version that was screened 30 years ago, go and buy the original books and then start badgering the BBC to make another series.

That landmark 1985 version is a tough act to follow and Pemberton - who is quite brilliant here as Lucia's gay best friend Georgie Pillson - has secured two superb actors to bring the warring queen bees of the seaside town of Tilling to life a second time.

As Miss Elizabeth Mapp, Miranda Richardson is armed with a set of slightly too large false teeth to turn her overly polite smiles into acts of pure passive aggression, while Anna Chancellor as the elegant Mrs ­Emmeline "Lucia" Lucas looks as though she has stepped straight out of the 1930s.

As she rents Miss Mapp's house for the summer, and sets out to win over the townsfolk of Tilling with her smatterings of bad Italian and limited musical accomplishments, the battle lines are drawn for an unmissable comedy of manners in this genteel war of social one-upmanship.

Miranda Richardson on her role in Mapp and Lucia

"The trouble is I haven't obeyed the rules or done things I'm supposed to do. I don't like to repeat myself. No one was tough enough to say to me, 'Shut up, calm down, this part will do you good, blah blah blah'"

Meet Mapp and Lucia... aka Queenie and Duckface

Miranda Richardson and Anna Chancellor on E.F. Benson's comedy of manners, and the joys of waging war over bridge parties and garden fetes...

Radio Times review

Miss Elizabeth Mapp, all big teeth and buttery smiles, is the queen of Tilling, ruling the social and cultural life of her dinky little seaside town like a cloche-hatted monarch.

But Mapp's reign is threatened by the arrival in Tilling of chic, elegant Emmeline Lucas, known to all as Lucia, so glamorous in her widow's weeds. The stage is set for war over the bridge tables as the women battle for supremacy.

Fans of E.F. Benson's peerless 1930s Mapp and Lucia series of comic novels should be thrilled by Steve Pemberton's careful adaptations for this three-part series (he's a huge fan and plays Lucia's fey, platonic friend Georgie Pilson).

Miranda Richardson, who's Mapp with a terrifying set of gnashers and a touch of the Margaret Thatchers, and Anna Chancellor, in a series of fabulous vintage dresses, are just marvellous as the rivals. The whole thing is the campest of treats.

Mapp and Lucia, TV review - lacks the charm of Downton

This chocolate boxy affair tries ever so hard to be funny but just falls flat.

Mapp & Lucia review: middle-aged women are interesting

TV has only relatively recently caught on to the idea that middle-aged women might make complicated and interesting protagonists, and with excellent results including Happy Valley, Olive Kitteridge, Last Tango in Halifax and Puppy Love. Benson's deliciously bitchy books predate all these by more than 90 years, of course, yet happily also fit well with the zeitgeist. No doubt this series will have new readers seeking out Benson's books, and a second BBC series wouldn't go amiss either.

Mapp & Lucia: "It's the jolliest, campest thing on TV"

New period comedy drama Mapp and Lucia premiered on the BBC tonight and it's safe to say that it went down a treat.

'Mapp and Lucia' episode 1 review

If the riotously underhanded handling of the garden fête is any indication of things to come, I'm sure we can expect even more ridiculous one-upmanships and toothsome phony smiles in the next two episodes.

Mapp & Lucia: Richardson shines in lightweight comedy

On the surface, Mapp and Lucia is a great drama due to its lavish production design, beautiful costumes, wonderful cinematography and fantastic performances. However, I found it to be fairly lightweight and thought the story really dragged throughout the hour. Being unaware of Benson's original stories, I wonder if Mapp and Lucia would've been better had it been a two-parter rather than stripped over three instalments. However, after watching just one episode of Mapp and Lucia I have decided it's not really for me and won't be tuning in over the next two nights.

Steve Pemberton interview

Social climbing has never been so funny for Steve Pemberton.