Season 1 Episode 1

"Episode 1" is the first episode of the first season of Harlots and the first episode overall. London 1763, the capital of the world, the most cosmopolitan place on Earth. One in five women in London is making her living selling sex. In some areas brothels, run by indomitable Madams, are to be found on almost every street.

Margaret Wells’ brothel is in a down-trodden area of the capital, but she’s making her move upwards, aiming to move her family and her girls and take a new house in the vibrant new area of Soho. Margaret is determined to take her piece of the wealth of this great city. She is hungry for success – even when her ambition begins to threaten everything she cares for.

But Lydia Quigley - owner of one of the most fashionable, successful, and unhappy brothels in Soho - has other ideas. When Margaret’s brothel is raided, Margaret realizes her ambition has roused an enemy, and stirred up an old feud.

As they risk losing everything, how much will Margaret and her daughters have to sacrifice to keep the brothel, and the Wells family afloat?

Synopsis
Inspired by the stories of real women, the series follows Margaret Wells (Morton) and her daughters, as she struggles to reconcile her roles as mother and brothel owner.

When her business comes under attack from Lydia Quigley (Manville), a rival madam with a ruthless streak, Margaret fights back, even if it means putting her family at risk. Brown Findlay stars as Charlotte, Margaret’s eldest daughter and the city’s most coveted courtesan who begins to grapple with her position in both society and her immediate family.

Cast

 * Samantha Morton as Margaret Wells
 * Lesley Manville as Lydia Quigley
 * Jessica Brown Findlay as Charlotte Wells
 * Eloise Smyth as Lucy Wells
 * Kate Fleetwood as Nancy Birch
 * Danny Sapani as William North
 * Douggie McMeekin as Charles Quigley
 * Hugh Skinner as Sir George Howard
 * Edward Hogg as Thomas Haxby
 * Rory Fleck-Byrne as Daniel Marney
 * Pippa Bennett-Warner as Harriet Lennox
 * Lottie Tolhurst as Kitty Carter
 * Bronwyn James as Fanny Lambert
 * Holli Dempsey as Emily Lacey
 * Alexa Davies as Betsey Fletcher
 * Poppy Corby-Teuch as Marie-Louise D'Aubigne
 * Rosalind Eleazar as Violet Cross
 * Dorothy Atkinson as Florence Scanwell
 * Jordon Stevens as Amelia Scanwell
 * Josef Altin as Prince Rasselas