What do you think makes the characters in The Forsyte Saga seem so real?
What makes the characters successful is you absolutely understand them. They show that life is complicated, and life isn’t fair, and you don’t always act well. We recognize that in ourselves, and therefore we have some sympathy for characters who behave this way. We enjoy their dilemmas, because we think, “Oh, we’re not alone. They’re like us, really.” It’s interesting that the book has no unblemished heroes. I don’t think characters can be interesting unless they’re flawed as well. Don’t you think we’d get very irritated by them? People with flaws are much more interesting, and those who appear not to have flaws are probably deeply flawed. Are you going to do a Series III? No, we’re not making any more. We felt we had closure with Soames and Irene in the final episode. I cry every time I see it. They play it so well. I felt that that was a good point at which to leave it. Do you think, thirty-five years from now, a new producer will revisit this story, just as you have done? Yes, it’s
