Millais (Samuel Barnett) realises he’s in

love with Effie Ruskin (Zoë Tapper), his patron’s wife

John Millais, the youngest and most talented member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, delights in having landed the influential John Ruskin as his new patron, as this lively new drama for BBC Two continues.

Millais’s friends and fellow artists, Hunt and Rossetti, however, watch on with bitter envy as his star begins to rise.

It’s not long, though, before Millais realises that Ruskin’s patronage comes at a price. Ruskin insists that Millais paint his beautiful young wife, Effie. Trapped in a loveless marriage, Effie reveals to Millais that Ruskin cannot, or will not, consummate their marriage. Horrified, Millais realises what is expected of him – in return for Ruskin’s patronage, he is to sleep with Ruskin’s wife.

Rossetti immediately seizes the benefits of his friend’s predicament. Millais, however, is crestfallen at the idea of sleeping with another man’s wife, and the potential scandal that could ensue, and resolves to walk away from Ruskin and sacrifice a career opportunity of a lifetime. This proves harder than Millais imagined when he realises that he is in love with Effie.

John Millais is played by Samuel Barnett; John Ruskin by Tom Hollander; William Holman Hunt by Rafe Spall; Dante Gabriel Rossetti by Aidan Turner; and Effie Ruskin by Zoë Tapper.

Desperate Romantics is simulcast on the BBC HD channel – the BBC’s High Definition channel, available through Freesat, Sky and Virgin Media.

John Ruskin (Tom Hollander) takes an interest

in the work of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood

The most exciting young artists of their day, the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, continue in their quest for credibility, celebrity and success this week, as this lively new drama for BBC Two, starring Aidan Turner, Rafe Spall, Samuel Barnett and Sam Crane and written by Peter Bowker, continues. With the help of their new friend, journalist Fred Walters, the group have caught the attention of the pre-eminent art critic of the day, John Ruskin, and now have to persuade him to buy their work.

The prodigious and impossibly talented John Millais sets about rustling up a “masterpiece” to show Ruskin. The work is Ophelia, and he chooses model Lizzie Siddal to sit for him. Rossetti, who is convinced that he is nothing without Lizzie as his muse, is furious with Millais for taking her from under his nose. Hunt, meanwhile, attempts a masterpiece of his own, with street girl Annie Miller once again sitting for him.

Having lost his virginity to Annie, Hunt remains unable to resist her charms and is cast into turmoil as he battles with his strong religious belief and conflicting sexual desire. Everything in the Brothers’ world comes crashing to a halt, however, when Lizzie falls unconscious with pneumonia while posing as Ophelia in a bath of cold water – Millais, distracted by thoughts of Ruskin’s beautiful young wife, Effie, had failed to notice Lizzie sinking into a decline. As Lizzie’s life hangs in the balance, so does Millais’s masterpiece – and, thereby, the Brotherhood’s most promising chance of gaining recognition. However, Rossetti no longer cares about the future of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood as he contemplates a future without the woman he loves.

Fred Walters is played by Sam Crane; John Ruskin by Tom Hollander; John Millais by Samuel Barnett; Lizzie Siddal by Amy Manson; Dante Gabriel Rossetti by Aidan Turner; William Holman Hunt by Rafe Spall; Annie Miller by Jennie Jacques; and Effie Ruskin by Zoë Tapper.

Desperate Romantics is simulcast on the BBC HD channel – the BBC’s High Definition channel, available through Freesat, Sky and Virgin Media.

Tuesday 21 July

9.00-10.00pm BBC TWO

John Millais (Samuel Barnett), Fred Walters (Sam Crane) Dante Gabriel Rossetti (Aidan Turner) and William Holman Hunt (Rafe Spall) are Desperate Romantics

Rebellious, talented and charismatic, three young men – The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood – are on a mission to change the world of art. This lively new drama for BBC Two, starring Aidan Turner, Rafe Spall, Samuel Barnett and Sam Crane and written by Peter Bowker, is all about the personal life and work of the Brotherhood.

Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Holman Hunt and John Millais declare their irreverent genius to the Victorian artistic establishment as frequently and as loudly as they can. Unfortunately for them, only one man seems to be listening. Fred Walters is a shy hanger-on who ingratiates himself with the Brotherhood by locating the “perfect model” – flame-haired Lizzie Siddal, a hat-shop assistant. Though none of them quite yet realise it, she is soon to be the most famous model in Britain.

Fred immediately falls in love with Lizzie, but he cannot compete with Rossetti’s charisma and self-belief. Lizzie, meanwhile, begins to model first for the hard-working and pugnacious Hunt.

The boys’ adventurous, anti-establishment style and choice of subject matter and model brings them to the notice of brilliant and influential art critic John Ruskin. Encouraged by Ruskin’s interest, and still smarting over their rejection by the Royal Academy, the boys decide to mount an exhibition of their own. One step away from anonymity and poverty, they invite Ruskin in the hope of securing his approval, which is vital to launching them into a world of fame and fortune.

As they work towards each painting becoming a masterpiece for their make-or-break exhibition, they find themselves distracted by poverty, hunger, jealousy and lust.

Dante Gabriel Rossetti is played by Aidan Turner; William Holman Hunt by Rafe Spall; John Millais by Samuel Barnett; Fred Walters by Sam Crane; Lizzie Siddal by Amy Manson; and John Ruskin by Tom Hollander. Desperate Romantics also stars Jennie Jacques as Annie Miller and Zoë Tapper as Effie Ruskin.