The Return of Sophie Lang

The eponymous scourge of the bejewelled community decides to hang up her gloves and retire to a more sedate existence. To that end, she manages to fake her own death and abscond to London where she takes up a position as a lady's lady. That's all going swimmingly until the lady in question - "Miss. ... Sedley" (Elizabeth Patterson) decides to take a cruise to the United States - and take her £100,000 diamond with her. Of course it gets stolen, and to avoid exposure and a walk along the plank, it falls to "Sophie" (Gertrude Michael) to track it down. To add to her woes, there's an investigative journalist about - "Jimmy" (Ray Milland) - who just happened to be at her "funeral", and also the devious "Max" (Sir Guy Standing) whom we suspect might just be pulling some strings. At just over the hour, this is quite a well paced drama that is well led by a much more tame Michael than in her first outing (two years ago before the government sponsored pinking shears came out). The onboard environment adds a little to the enforced claustrophobia of her investigation and the cheekily enthusiastic Milland is quite effective as the pesky newshound. Not as lively nor as engaging as the last one, but still a good role for an actress who is a natural in it. read more