After her husband Duncan Matlock, a senior Government Minister responsible for promoting family values, is revealed in the tabloid press to have had a fling with a pretty political aide, Flora Matlock is clearly expected by everyone around her to stand by her man. For his part, he assures her it was a onetime fling and that it was just an aberration on his part. For Flora, the betrayal goes deep and affects her self-image in a serious way. She complies however, smiling at photo ops, attending a review meeting with the constituency association and otherwise playing the dutiful wife while her husband continues to scramble to save his political career.

• Paula Milne

• Juliet Stevenson
• Trevor Eve
• Anton Lesser