She’s feisty, sophisticated and glamorous. I am, of course, referring to Miss Jessica Lovelock, Young Mr Grace’s personal secretary and companion, who was apparently responsible for his demise when they were scuba diving while on holiday together in the Caribbean. His equipment was in perfect working order but the sight of Miss Lovelock losing her bikini top was too much for him.
We get to know this in the first episode, after the Grace Brothers staff have returned from his funeral to discuss the will with the solicitor. The atmosphere in the boardroom is subdued and beneath it there is a simmering animosity. Miss Lovelock sits perched on a desk, apart from the others, wearing an eye-catching black dress with white spots, and – as Miss Brahms is quick to point out – black stockings and suspenders. Mr Thorpe, the solicitor, asks the staff if they have met her and they respond with a a strained chorus of “yes”. They then discuss what happened to Young Mr Grace and Mis Brahms says, “My paper had a misprint, said he was scrubber diving.” It’s obvious, from the start, that Miss Brahms and Mrs Slocombe dislike her, though it soon becomes clear that Captain Peacock has her in his sights.
The ladies are jealous of her getting special treatment – Young Mr Grace converted a room in the grooms quarters for her and left the horses to her in his will. While the staff go about the business of running the hotel, she is indulging in her own interests: riding and, in particular, taking part in the local hunt.
She is often seen striding through the hotel in her riding gear with her whip in hand; or, as she is on their first evening at the Manor, sitting seductively in the lounge, wearing a shimmering black dress as though she’s about to go on a night out. She rarely shows any interest in the others or their problems; neither does she participate in the staff meetings. When gathered for their first meeting, Miss Brahms complains that she’s done nothing, while Mrs Slocombe’s comment that she did look after Young Mr Grace in his declining weeks, falls on deaf ears. She is, however, one of the co-executor of his will, although her duties at the hotel apparently amount to little more than signing cheques.
There is one occasion when she does get involved and it’s in a role-playing exercise. But what role could she play? Captain Peacock doesn’t think she wouldn’t have had much experience in a hotel, while Mrs Slocombe believes quite the opposite. Miss Lovelock, for her part, boasts that she’s stayed in some of the best hotels with Young Mr Grace and would be more than qualified to judge whether they were up to standard, which prompts Mr Rumbold to suggest that she takes on the role of a guest. Tensions rise still further when Miss Brahms is put in charge of the bar; she immediately gestures to Miss Lovelock and, with obvious delight, exclaims, “You’re banned!” and saunters off. Mrs Slocombe then asks what role she should have and Miss Lovelock suggests she can do the bedrooms, be a waitress or help in the kitchen, but then tells her to keep out of sight which reduces her to tears.
“She’s a tart!”
One of my favorite moments occurs in the petrified cat episode, after Captain Peacock and Miss Lovelock have removed the cat and taken it to the local museum. A superstitious Mr Moulterd warns them that its removal will bring on a curse and, predictably, the staff soon begin to experience a series of strange events. Mrs Slocombe claims her drawers mysteriously fell out, but Captain Peacock has a more rational explanation and blames it on a passing lorry. That night in her room, Mrs Slocombe jumps up and down in an effort to simulate the effect and see whether the vibrations really do make her drawers fall open. The noise immediately prompts a complaint from Miss Lovelock, who opens the door and asks, “Will you be doing that for long?” As she closes the door, Mrs Slocombe whispers to Miss Brahms, saying “she’s a…” Miss Brahms asks her to repeat it louder then Miss Lovelock opens the door again and says, “a tart!” quickly shutting the door again.
In a continuing thread through the series, Captain Peacock can often be seen trying to impress Miss Lovelock with (highly exaggerated) accounts of his wartime exploits or commenting on her appearance – her trim figure is of particular interest, such as when he meets her at the stables where she is raking the hay.
All of which doesn’t go unnoticed by Miss Brahms and Mrs Slocombe. At a staff meeting, Captain Peacock gets annoyed with their constant snide remarks that imply he is attracted to her and protests his innocence. Mrs Slocombe rather weakly tries to reassure him that no offense was intended but Miss Brahms remarks “We’re amazed you can still pull!”
Despite his denials, Captain Peacock clearly does fancy her, as we see in the petrified cat episode when she is helping him to prepare a room for Miss Brahms. She discovers an old painting of the Earl of Millstone and recounts a story about the Earl’s affair with Leonora, his wife’s younger sister who falls madly in love with him. In a dream sequence in which they are dressed in period clothing, he takes her in his arms but alas, it’s only a fantasy. Miss Lovelock has briefly left the room and as she returns he is jolted back to reality.
Although Captain Peacock takes quite an interest in Miss Lovelock and even joins in with some of her sporting activities, he soon proves no match for her. When she offers to take him on her motor bike to the village for Mrs Slocombe’s court appearance, she gives him a trial run around in the farmyard which results in a rather shaken Captain Peacock reluctantly declining the offer and deciding to travel with the others on the back of Mr Moulterd’s tractor. His attempt at horse riding is equally unsuccessful and lacking her youth and athleticism, he has great difficulty in dismounting, which gives Miss Brahms and Mrs Slocombe an opportunity to indulge in some typical innuendo. Mrs Slocombe: “Perhaps I can help you get your leg over.” Miss Brahms: “I should leave that to Miss Lovelock, she’s had more experience.”
She may be a rather arrogant snob who talks down to everyone, but Miss Lovelock does take part in some of the activities organised by the staff, such as the entertainment for the Americans where she dances with Mr Humphries in an extract from the ballet, Romeo and Juliet. She also joins in with the church service and the harvest dance and accompanies the others to the pub for the darts match. In another episode, however, the staff are having their photos taken for the hotel brochure and this time she wasn’t invited. She goes into the kitchen and asks Mavis why they didn’t ask her to join them. After a brief exchange with her, she says “it would be nice to get some service around here,” and wanders off. She’s clearly used to being waited on, unlike Mavis, the hard-working, farmer’s daughter who is concerned with rather more mundane activities such as clearing out the cow shed.
Miss Lovelock’s relationship with Miss Brahms and Mrs Slocombe is a constant source of friction throughout the series. Sometimes, perhaps, it becomes a little drawn out and one might wish those two would make at least some effort to become more acquainted with her. As for Captain Peacock, it’s clear that his repeated attempts to charm her are doomed to failure. Yet without Miss Lovelock, life at Millstone Manor would have been so much duller for the now retired staff of the former Grace Brothers department store; that is, if they were there at all.
Next month an exclusive interview with Joanne Heywood
My sincere thanks to Joanne Heywood for permission to use the above images
© 2020, John Fraser. All rights reserved.