The serial was first broadcast on the BBC and was directed by David Yates, written by Andrew Davies and produced by Nigel Stafford-Clark.

David Suchet starred as Augustus Melmotte, with Shirley Henderson as his daughter Marie, Matthew Macfadyen as Sir Felix Carbury, Cillian Murphy as Paul Montague and Miranda Otto as Mrs Hurtle.

Lady Carbury is an impoverished widow with a handsome but dissolute son, Sir Felix, and a pretty, intelligent daughter, Henrietta.

Her friend, Mr Broune, a publisher, reviews her books favourably and wants their relationship to be closer.

The Carburys are invited to a ball at Melmotte's mansion; Felix meets Marie, an inexperienced young woman, and sweeps her off her feet.

Newly returned from America with plans to build a railroad from Utah to Mexico, Paul meets Henrietta when the Carburys visit Roger's estate.

Paul and his American partner meet Melmotte, who agrees to arrange a stock offering for the railroad.

Sir Felix and some of his friends join the board of directors; none cares anything about the company, but they are delighted at the chance to profit from it.

Felix fails to join her in Liverpool, where Marie is stopped by police investigating the stolen cheque.

On the strength of the successful stock offering, he has borrowed huge sums of money for other ambitious projects.

The precipitous fall of the railroad stock causes Melmotte's fortunes to sink as creditors begin pressing for repayment.

He asks Marie to release a large sum he put in her name to protect it from his creditors, but she refuses.