I believe that Lady Bellaston is really properly in love with Tom. She falls for him but she doesn't expect to do that. He's just a kind person, and he's really hot, obviously. 'The thing about Tom is that he's completely authentic. There's no doubt in Hughes' mind that Lady Bellaston truly loves Tom, which explains the hurt reaction and her scheme to destroy his chances at happiness with Sophia.

She's not afraid to be grotesque, but she's also totally there for the the vulnerability and the and the rage.' 'I was thrilled when we got her because there are dozen actresses who can play these things but she's Lady Bellaston. Landing 'Ted Lasso' star Hannah Waddingham was key to conveying this humanity. My Lady Bellaston, I wouldn't say she's a nicer but she's certainly more human than Fielding's.' She's spoiled, rich, nasty, but ultimately still vulnerable to love and disappointment. 'So I really wanted to inhabit her properly and attract an actress with a character who is not a grotesque. 'I was writing a part for an older woman in love with a young man, and a lot of the audience are that age group and don't want to be told they're too old for love,' Hughes continued.

And the other is that there's none of the sense of tragedy that I've tried to bring to it. 'Two things happened to her character in Fielding. 'Fielding thinks she's a silly old cow,' Hughes told Salon. And this is something that writer Gwyneth Hughes wanted to explore when it came to Lady Bellaston, a character who was treated with much less nuance and depth in the original text. I was like, she genuinely loves Tom, and I felt bad for her.'Ĭlearly, women over a certain age are not past the age of love, much less desire or sex. There's a vulnerability there, and Hannah does it so well. 'It kind of seems like she's been playing him a little bit, and the tables have turned. 'That's almost the first point you see Lady Bellaston feel something,' he said. 'She's spoiled, rich, nasty, but ultimately still vulnerable to love and disappointment.'

The awkward age by henry james