Desperate Romantics Mini Series DVD   BBC

Among the alleys, galleries and flesh-houses of 19th-century London, a group of young artists crash through Victorian society. Calling themselves the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, they might present a real threat to the art establishment - if lust, poverty, jealousy and rivalry don't tear them apart first... They are three talented and good-loooking young bucks, thrill-seeking and on-the-make, on the grubby streets of London. But these are no punk rockers, this is 1851 and these lads - Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Holman Hunt and John Millais - are among Britain's most celebrated artists. Styling themselves as the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, they declare their irreverent genius to the artist establishment as frequently and as loudly as they can. Unfortunately for them, only one man seems to be listening: Fred Walters, a shy hanger-on who ingratiates himself with them by locating the "perfect model" - flame-haired Lizzie Siddal, a hat-shop assistant. Young, naive and high on laudanum, the Brotherhood manage to affront polite society with their lewd behaviour, but can they produce the work that will exemplify their revoluntionary stance? And, as they encounter success, failure, love and rejection, can they overcome their own personal doubts and demons?