Period drama Hotel Portofino, previously available only through BritBox UK, is coming to ITV on February 3rd and the complete boxset will also be available to watch subscription-free on ITVX, the broadcaster’s new streaming service, from the same date.
Starring Natasha McElhone, the six-part series follows the Ainsworth family who open a hotel for upper class travellers on the magical Italian Riviera during the ‘Roaring 20s’.
Co-proprietor Bella Ainsworth’s (McElhone) dreams for the hotel quickly come up against the demands of hard-to-please guests, including the imperious Lady Latchmere (Anna Chancellor), and the machinations of scheming local politician Signor Danioni (Pasquale Esposito) who threatens to drag Bella into the red-hot political cauldron of Mussolini’s Italy.
In addition she must find time to coax wounded son Lucian, and her widowed daughter, Alice, towards health and happiness in the traumatic aftermath of World War 1, and content with husband Cecil’s (Mark Umbers), obsession with arranging an advantageous marriage for Lucian to secure the future of the family’s estate back in England.
Created and written by Matt Baker, the drama has been renewed for a second series.