Capturing Mary

Capturing Mary is a BBC television drama (co-produced by HBO), written and directed by Stephen Poliakoff. It was aired on BBC Two on 12 November 2007. It is linked, by the central character of Joe, to another Poliakoff drama, Joe's Palace, which was first aired on 4 November 2007.

Overview

The drama saw a repeat of Danny Lee Wynter's caretaker character of Joe, who encounters former socialite Mary (played by Dame Maggie Smith in the present and Ruth Wilson in her youth) when she visits the house featured in Joe's Palace. We see flashbacks to her past links with the house. This present-day meeting between Joe and Mary overlaps with the events of Joe's Palace.

The programme also starred David Walliams as the character Greville White and Gemma Arterton as Greville White's young date, Liza.

Plot

We first meet the character of Mary as an old woman (Dame Maggie Smith) in the present. The "old" Mary, a former journalist and socialite, arrives at the house of Elliot Graham’s late father. Joe, the caretaker of the house, takes pity on her and invites her in. She begins to recount to Joe the significance of the house to her.