If you’ve spent any time scrolling through period dramas on BritBox or PBS Masterpiece lately, you’ve likely stumbled upon the lush, velvet-draped world of The Paradise. It’s a gorgeous show. Honestly, the first time I watched it, I was mostly there for the costumes, but I stayed for the chemistry. The The Paradise Season 1 cast didn’t just play characters in a Victorian department store; they basically built a living, breathing ecosystem of ambition, class struggle, and some seriously messy romances.
It’s weirdly easy to forget that this show, loosely based on Émile Zola’s Au Bonheur des Dames, was a massive hit when it first landed on the BBC. The cast had this specific magic. You had veterans like Sarah Lancashire bringing gravitas, while newcomers like Joanna Vanderham had to carry the emotional weight of being the "new girl" in a world that wanted to chew her up.
The Heart of the Store: Joanna Vanderham and Emun Elliott
Let’s talk about Denise Lovett. Joanna Vanderham was only about 20 or 21 when she took on the role. She’s got this wide-eyed look that makes you think she’s a pushover, but by episode three, you realize she’s probably the smartest person in the building. Denise isn't just a shop girl. She’s a disruptor. Vanderham played her with a mix of genuine innocence and a terrifyingly sharp business mind. She was the audience’s entry point into the high-stakes world of Victorian retail.
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Then there’s John Moray.
Emun Elliott brought a very modern energy to a 19th-century setting. He didn’t play Moray as a stiff, Victorian gentleman. He played him as a visionary, maybe a bit of a narcissist, and definitely a man haunted by his dead wife. The chemistry between Elliott and Vanderham is the engine of the entire first season. If that hadn't worked, the show would have folded in four episodes. They had this "will-they-won't-they" tension that felt earned because it was rooted in a shared passion for business, not just pretty faces.
The Supporting Players Who Stole the Show
You can't talk about the The Paradise Season 1 cast without mentioning Miss Audrey. Sarah Lancashire is a legend for a reason. Before Happy Valley made her a household name globally, she was the formidable head of ladieswear. She played Miss Audrey with such a brittle, fragile dignity. You see her fear of being replaced by younger women, and it’s heartbreaking. Honestly, Lancashire can do more with a slight purse of her lips than most actors can do with a three-page monologue.
And then we have the "villains," if you want to call them that.
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- Elaine Cassidy as Lady Katherine Glendenning: She was spectacular. Katherine wasn't just a spoiled rich girl; she was a woman with zero agency in her life trying to claw back some power by marrying Moray. Cassidy made her sympathetic even when she was being absolute poison.
- Patrick Malahide as Lord Glendenning: He played the overprotective father with a cold, calculating edge. Malahide has that "villain voice," but he grounded the character in a very real love for his daughter.
- Matthew McNulty as Dudley: The loyal friend. Every visionary needs a Dudley to handle the spreadsheets while they’re busy dreaming about silk. McNulty played the "straight man" role perfectly, acting as the moral compass of the shop.
The floor staff added so much texture too. Ruby Bentall as Pauline was the comedic relief we desperately needed, and Sonya Cassidy as Clara gave us a glimpse into the darker side of being a shop girl—the desperation, the jealousy, and the limited options for women who didn't have Denise’s "spark."
Why the Casting Worked So Well
Most period dramas fail because the actors feel like they’re wearing "costumes" rather than clothes. In The Paradise, the cast felt lived-in. They understood the hierarchy. In the Victorian era, your position in a store like The Paradise was your entire identity. The actors portrayed that rigid social structure beautifully. When Peter Wight’s character, Edmund Lovett, watches his small shop across the street literally crumble as the big department store rises, you feel the death of an era. It’s not just a plot point; it’s written all over Wight’s face.
The show faced stiff competition from Mr. Selfridge, which came out around the same time. While Mr. Selfridge was flashy and American-led, The Paradise felt more intimate. That intimacy came directly from the cast’s performances. They made the small world of the shop feel like the center of the universe.
Realities of the Production
Behind the scenes, the production was a massive undertaking. They filmed at Lambton Castle in County Durham. The cast has talked in interviews about how the set itself influenced their performances. Walking onto a fully realized Victorian department store floor helps you stand a little straighter. The corsets helped too, I’m sure. Joanna Vanderham has mentioned in the past that the physical constraints of the clothing helped her tap into the social constraints Denise was fighting against.
There’s a nuance to the performances that people often miss. Take David Hayman as Jonas, the sinister gatekeeper of the store’s secrets. He’s barely in some episodes, but his presence looms over everything. He’s the one who reminds us that the glamour of the store is built on a foundation of secrets and perhaps even a bit of blood.
What the Cast Did Next
It’s fun to see where they ended up. Joanna Vanderham went on to do Warrior and Crime. Emun Elliott has been in everything from Star Wars: The Force Awakens to The Rig. And Sarah Lancashire? She’s basically royalty now.
Seeing them all together in Season 1 is like catching a glimpse of a "before they were huge" moment for several of them. They were a cohesive unit. Even the minor characters, like the shop boys, felt like they had lives outside the frame. That’s the sign of a well-cast show.
Actionable Takeaways for Fans
If you're looking to dive deeper into the world of the The Paradise Season 1 cast, there are a few things you can actually do to appreciate the craft more:
- Watch the "Making Of" Featurettes: If you have the DVDs or access to the BritBox extras, watch the interviews. Hearing Emun Elliott talk about Moray’s motivations changes how you see his scenes with Katherine.
- Compare to the Source Material: Read Zola's Au Bonheur des Dames. It’s much darker than the show. Seeing how the cast "softened" these characters for a BBC audience while keeping their internal drive is a masterclass in adaptation.
- Track the Career Arcs: Check out Sarah Lancashire in The Paradise and then watch her in Julia. The range is unbelievable.
- Re-watch Episode 1 with an eye on the background: The "extras" and minor shop girls were often the same people throughout the shoot to maintain the feeling of a real workforce. It adds a level of realism that most modern shows skip.
The show might be over, but the performances haven't aged a day. It’s a snapshot of a very specific time in British television when the period drama was being reinvented as something faster, sharper, and a little bit more dangerous.
To truly understand the impact of the ensemble, one should look at how the power dynamics shift between Denise and Miss Audrey across the eight episodes of the first season. It’s a subtle passing of the torch that mirrors the real-world shift in retail history—from the old-school specialty shops to the all-encompassing "experience" of the modern department store. The cast didn't just deliver lines; they mapped out a revolution.