Bleak House Episode Guide

Episode Guide

• Season 1 Episode 16: EPISODE: 16

  Months have passed since the dramas surrounding Tulkinghorn's death in the final instalment of the Charles Dickens adaptation. Ada worries that a desperately ill Richard will not live to see the child they are expecting. Esther is forced to turn down the heartfelt advances of Woodcourt, and Smallweed makes a discovery that leads to the sudden conclusion of the long-running Jarndyce case - but the result shocks everyone concerned

• Season 1 Episode 15: EPISODE: 15

  Months have passed since the dramas surrounding Tulkinghorn's death, in the final instalment of the Charles Dickens adaptation. Ada worries that a desperately ill Richard will not live to see the child they are expecting. Esther is forced to turn down the heartfelt advances of Woodcourt, and Smallweed makes a discovery that leads to the sudden conclusion of the long-running Jarndyce case - but the result shocks everyone concerned. Last in series

• Season 1 Episode 14: EPISODE: 14

  Woodcourt informs Esther of Richard's deteriorating health. Mrs Rouncewell is overjoyed when she discovers George is no longer a suspect in the murder investigation - and informs her son of an employment opportunity at Chesney Wold. The pressure on Lady Dedlock proves too much when Smallweed reveals he has evidence of her secret past - forcing the desperate aristocrat to make a terrible decision

• Season 1 Episode 13: EPISODE: 13

  Esther accompanies Ada to visit an ailing Richard and the orphan is dismayed to discover that her fellow clerks have secretly married and will not be coming back to Bleak House. Mrs Rouncewell visits Lady Dedlock and pleads for her help in freeing George, but the troubled aristocrat has more pressing matters of her own as she receives a disturbing letter and becomes the prime suspect in Bucket's investigation

• Season 1 Episode 12: EPISODE: 12

  Clamb discovers Tulkinghorn's body and is quick to tell Bucket that George was spotted at the scene of the crime. A shocked Sir Leicester offers a reward for the arrest of the murderer, while his troubled wife shows little reaction to the news. As Woodcourt treats Caddy and her new baby, Ada speculates on his feelings for Esther - who is then forced to reveal her engagement to Jarndyce

• Season 1 Episode 11: EPISODE: 11

  Richard's financial troubles prompt Vholes to visit Jarndyce and ask him to pay off the debts. Ada offers her inheritance in an attempt to ease the problem, but the young man refuses. Esther is shocked to see Woodcourt in the inn, and the pair have a difficult conversation. Meanwhile, Lady Dedlock's defiance frustrates Tulkinghorn - and back in London the lawyer's constant scheming finally catches up with him

• Season 1 Episode 10: EPISODE: 10

  Lady Dedlock continues to defy Tulkinghorn as she sends Rosa away to save her from the impending scandal, and the lawyer is further irritated when Hortense misbehaves. Esther returns to London in the hope of persuading Guppy to stop snooping. When she reveals her face the young clerk quickly agrees and even retracts his previous proposal - but another suitor soon approaches the orphan with a similar offer

• Season 1 Episode 9: EPISODE: 9

  Still reeling from her news, Esther accompanies Ada to the inn, but decides to keep the shocking revelations to herself. Richard's obsession with Chancery intensifies as he hires a lawyer of his own, and Smallweed comes across Hawdon's love letters and is happy to sell them to Tulkinghorn. The wily lawyer then reveals his scandalous findings at Chesney Wold - leaving a distraught Lady Dedlock completely in his power

• Season 1 Episode 8: EPISODE: 8

  Tulkinghorn closes in on his client's secret as he matches Nemo's handwriting with the legal documents, while Guppy reveals more than he wanted about the letters. Esther confides in Jarndyce, admitting her chances with Woodcourt are over - but when speaking with Lady Dedlock she receives shocking news that will change her life for ever

• Season 1 Episode 7: EPISODE: 7

  Guppy calls on a drunken Krook, who offers him a glimpse of the love letters he found. Lady Dedlock also receives a visit from the clerk, who reveals that he knows Esther's real name is Hawdon - but the aristocrat has other worries after hearing her beloved maid Rosa is set to marry. Tulkinghorn meets George to discuss his demands, leaving the ex-Army man worried about his future, and Jo becomes seriously ill

• Season 1 Episode 6: EPISODE: 6

  Esther helps search for Jo, but the orphan soon becomes the subject of concern herself when she falls ill with smallpox. Guppy returns to Krook's house determined to get his hands on the love letters, but when he ventures inside he is shocked to discover the bloated landlord dead. The clerk's day only gets worse when he reports back to Lady Dedlock and encounters Tulkinghorn - whose suspicions are immediately aroused

• Season 1 Episode 5: EPISODE: 5

  Esther is surprised to discover Charley Neckett is to be her maid, while Caddy and Prince inform Old Mr Turveydrop of their engagement. Richard changes his career path yet again and decides to join the army, much to Jarndyce's annoyance. He begins training with Sergeant George, an old friend of Miss Flite's - and the ex-soldier is soon dragged into Tulkinghorn's investigations as the lawyer closes in on Nemo's real identity

• Season 1 Episode 4: EPISODE: 4

  During a trip to Leicestershire, Jarndyce is disheartened to hear Esther has feelings for someone else, and the orphan encounters a strangely familiar face at the local church. Richard begins work at a legal firm with Guppy, who is given interesting information at the law-writing shop, and crossing sweeper Jo is taken aback to see Lady Dedlock in her true guise

• Season 1 Episode 3: EPISODE: 3

  Richard decides a life in law is the perfect antidote to his failing medical studies. Skimpole callously revels in the news of his adversary's death, but Esther and Jarndyce are more charitable as they visit the young family Mr Neckett left behind. Meanwhile, Lady Dedlock secretly copes with her own loss, as she grieves for former love Nemo and investigates his past - despite instructing Tulkinghorn to stop his snooping

• Season 1 Episode 2: EPISODE: 2

  Richard grows closer to Ada and decides he has a future in medicine. Esther finds herself attracted to Allan Woodcourt. Tulkinghorn continues to snoop into Lady Dedlock's past, investigating Nemo's death and quizzing Jo, the dead man's friend. Meanwhile, Krook secretly revels in a discovery of his own

• Season 1 Episode 1: EPISODE: 1

  Adaptation of the Charles Dickens classic, depicting crime, corruption and courtship in Victorian London. In the first, hour-long episode, orphan Esther Summerson prepares to meet a host of unfamiliar faces, including her new guardian John Jarndyce and his wards Richard Carstone and Ada Clare. But an encounter with opium-addled lodger Nemo leaves her with a troubling sense of deja vu