Dame Judi Dench and Sir Michael Gambon are among a host of stars who starred in the BBC period drama. Cranford is a best-selling novel written by author Elizabeth Gaskell with fans saying it rivals the works of Jane Austen. Set in the fictional town of Cranford, the story provides a delightful and charming portrayal of the lives and experiences of the town's predominantly female inhabitants. The historical series which debuted on the BBC in 2007 featured a stellar cast with Dame Judi Dench who played Miss Matty Jackson and Imelda Staunton as Miss Pole.

The seven-part series is set Cranford in the 1840s and is ruled by the ladies. They adore good gossip, romance and change is in the air, as the unwelcome grasp of the Industrial Revolution rapidly approaches their beloved rural market-town. Fans have praised the period drama as one of the best ever adaptations and a "worthwhile production".

The series scored 8.3/10 on IMDB and first aired 18 years ago.

One viewer noted: "Actually, I was just grateful that anyone was paying attention to Elizabeth Gaskill in the first place. No doubt there are those of us who adore Jane Austen but she always gets all the attention in movies and TV, what with the oodles of remakes and re releases and her immense popularity. But Gaskill is just down right hilarious to read...so hurray for the old new comer!"

A second commented: "Not a dry eye in the house as this came to a close last night. Absolute perfection. Never has a better cast been assembled for a TV drama. For me, Imelda Staunton shone, with her fantastic comic timing, but they were all excellent. A departure from the usual Dickens or Austen (which I adore) in that the plot is more episodic and less dark."

"I am at heart an Austen girl, and I will admit that I find that the BBC's adaptations often far outrank any other and Cranford was no exception. Pure excellence. Cranford had me in tears for every episode, and often begging for the happy ending which given the often dark nature of the narrative was unlikely to come, and often didn't," a third penned.

A fourth added: "I just discovered this show on Britbox, the BBC streaming service here in the US. I enjoy British tv shows, even old ones, so much more than anything that is done here. And this show lives up to my expectations - good writing and good acting. The positive reviews say is it all - the show is beautiful, funny at times, heartbreaking at other times."

The television adaptation premiered in 2007 on BBC before ending in 2009.

Cranford is free to stream for free on UKTV's U now