Duchess of Duke Street, The

Based on the life of the Duchess of Jermyn Street.

The Duchess Of Duke Street is set in London between 1900 and 1925. Created by John Hawkesworth, the former producer of the highly successful ITV period drama Upstairs, Downstairs and starred Gemma Jones as Louisa Trotter, the "Duchess" who works her way up from servant to renowned cook to proprietress of the upper-class Bentinck Hotel in Duke Street, Marylebone in London.The programme lasted for two series totaling 31 episodes, shown between
1976 and 1977. It was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited Series in 1980.

The story is based on the real-life career of Rosa Lewis (née Ovenden), the "Duchess of Jermyn Street", who ran the Cavendish Hotel in London. When the show first aired, there were many people who still remembered her, as she lived until 1952. .

Gemma Jones plays the Duchess. She attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

She was first recognised outside the UK in 1974, after playing the Empress Frederick in the BBC television drama series Fall of Eagles. Achieved mass popularity as Louisa Trotter, The Duchess of Duke Street. She later played Mrs Dashwood alongside Kate Winslet, Alan Rickman and Emma Thompson in the Academy Award-winning period drama Sense and Sensibility (1995).

Other notable roles include Lady Queensbury in Wilde (1997), Grace Winslow in The Winslow Boy (1999), Pam Jones in Bridget Jones's Diary (2001) and Poppy Pomfrey in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), also alongside Alan Rickman.

She is currently onscreen as Connie James in series six of the BBC1 drama Spooks.