Men admire him, or want to punch his lights out. Women adore him. He's cool and 18th century Europe is his playground. Ladies and gentlemen (but especially ladies), meet the legendary Casanova!

Rising from his ignominious birth, Giacomo Casanova transforms himself into a witty, intelligent hedonist gone wild. In between romantic assignations, Casanova meets the love of his life, the charming Henriette, but she has already made a financially advantageous engagement to the wealthy Count Grimani and Casanova is heartbroken. When Grimani has Casanova arrested for crimes both real and imagined, Casanova makes a daring escape from prison, cutting a swathe through the capitals of Europe as he seduces the women (and men) in his path and reinvents himself as a doctor, a lawyer, an astrologer and even a fake nobleman.

Based on the historicl Casanova's infamous memoir, Masterpiece Theatre's rollicking re-telling stars the iconic Peter O'Toole (Lawrence Of Arabia, Troy) as the aging lothario recounting his adventures, David Tennant (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) as the youthful Casanova, and Laura Fraser (He Knew He Was Right) as the unobtainable Henriette.