

A Woman of Substance
A truly heartrending dynastic saga of poverty, passion and power
The life of Emma Harte, from kitchen maid at the beginning of the 20th-century, to respected businesswoman and grandmother in the 1980s. From humble beginnings, Emma Harte starts her business with a small shop, but over the next twenty years, she expands her stores and invests in the growing textile industry in Leeds.
Cast

Jenny Seagrove
Young Emma Harte

Deborah Kerr
Older Emma Harte

Barry Bostwick
Major Paul McGill

Liam Neeson
Blackie O'Neill

Miranda Richardson
Paula McGill Amory

Peter Egan
Adam Fairley

Peter Chelsom
Edwin Fairley

Barry Morse
Murgatroyd

Jonathan Duttine
Joe Lowther

Diane Baker
Laura O'Neill

John Mills
Henry Rossiter

Mick Ford
Frank Harte

Christopher Gable
Arthur Ainsley

Gayle Hunnicutt
Olivia Wainwright

Christopher Guard
Gerald Fairley
Seasons
The life of Emma Harte, from kitchen maid at the beginning of the 20th-century, to respected businesswoman and grandmother in the 1980s. From humble beginnings, Emma Harte starts her business with a small shop, but over the next twenty years, she expands her stores and invests in the growing textile industry in Leeds.
E1Episode 1
Jan 2, 1985
As her children plot the takeover of her retail empire, Emma Harte plans her own counter-moves against them. Emma started life as a maid in the home of Adam Fairley, the wealthy local mill owner. She works hard not only at the Fairley's but also in her own home taking care of her father, two brothers and a bedridden and dying mother.
E2Episode 2
Jan 3, 1985
Now in Leeds, the pregnant Emma Harte learns that Blackie O'Neill has gone to Ireland to care for a sick friend. She finds a place to stay but has tried everywhere to get a job with no success. Her luck changes when she rescues a middle-aged man, Abraham Kallinski, be stoned by two boys.
E3Episode 3
Jan 4, 1985
As Emma Harte's empire grows, she arranges her assets in such a way as no one knows she is the buyer, noting that most men don't like dealing with a woman on business matters. The various layers of ownership come in quite handy as George Fairley drinks and gambles his family businesses away and she gets a opportunity to buy them cheap.
Videos
Storyline
The life of Emma Harte, from kitchen maid at the beginning of the 20th-century, to respected businesswoman and grandmother in the 1980s. From humble beginnings, Emma Harte starts her business with a small shop, but over the next twenty years, she expands her stores and invests in the growing textile industry in Leeds.
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