| 19th century Great Britain. The Industrial Revolution brings both the promise and fear of change. In the provincial town of Middlemarch, the progressive Dorothea Brooke desperately seeks intellectual fulfillment in a male-dominated society and is driven into an unhappy marriage to the elderly scholar Casaubon. No sooner do they embark on their honeymoon than she meets and develops an instant connection with Casaubon's young cousin, Will Ladislaw. When idealistic Doctor Lydgate arrives, his new methods of medicine sweep him into the battle between conservatives and liberals in town. He quickly becomes enamored of the beautiful, privileged Rosamond Vincy, a woman whose troubles seem bound to destroy him. |
| Name | Character | Episodes |
|---|---|---|
| Rufus Sewell | Will Ladislaw | 6 |
| Elizabeth Spriggs | Mrs. Cadwallader | 6 |
| Juliet Aubrey | Dorothea Brooke | 6 |
| Patrick Malahide | Rev. Edward Casaubon | 6 |
| Clive Russell | Caleb Garth | 6 |
| Michael Hordern | Peter Featherstone | 6 |
| Robert Hardy | Arthur Brooke | 6 |
| Douglas Hodge | Dr. Tertius Lydgate | 6 |
| Jonathan Firth | Fred Vincy | 6 |
| Caroline Harker | Celia Brooke | 6 |
| Rosemary Martin | Mrs. Bulstrode | 6 |
| Stephen Moore | Mayor Vincy | 6 |
| Ken Campbell | Mr Mawmsey | 6 |
| Simon Chandler | Rev. Farebrother | 6 |
| James Garbutt | Dr. Wrench | 6 |
| Julian Wadham | Sir James Chettam | 6 |
| Jacqueline Tong | Mrs. Vincy | 6 |
| Roger Milner | Pratt | 6 |
| Patti Love | Mrs. Plymdale | 6 |
| Ronald Hines | Mr. Standish | 6 |
| Fred Pearson | Mr. Bambridge | 6 |
| Trevyn McDowell | Rosamond Vincy | 6 |
| Peter Jeffrey | Bulstrode | 6 |
| Caroline Harker | 3 | |
| Pam Ferris | 2 | |
| Judi Dench | 1 | |
| Andrew Tiernan | 1 | |
| Ken Hudson Campbell | 1 | |
| Emily Woof | 1 | |
| Tony Rohr | 1 |