Ben Daniels as Tom Weston
Ben Daniels, star of 'The Paradise' thinks we are in a "golden age" for TV.
The 49-year-old star is delighted by the current success of period dramas such as 'Downton Abbey' and 'The Paradise', as well as US dramas including 'Breaking Bad', and he is pleased "so many" movie stars are starring on the small screen.
He exclusively told BANG Showbiz: "It's escapism I suppose. They were simpler times, although period dramas have always been around.
"It's a golden age of TV, it really is. Especially in America, 'Breaking Bad' is fantastic. There are so many movie stars who want to be a part of TV series because you get a longer story arc and they're great to watch. They've really tapped into the box set mentality of audiences."
Ben plays Tom Weston in 'The Paradise' - which is set in 1875 and focuses around the first ever English department store of the same name, which his alter-ego is in charge of - and admits he loves playing costume drama characters who rebel against Victorian values.
He added: "You have these characters that are very restrained by all these Victorian values, yet they are just human beings really so they are always pushing at those barriers to try to break out of it - certainly the character that I play does. So it's fun.
"You can lose yourself in whatever character you're playing and forget about what period they're in as much as you can."
'The Paradise' airs tonight (27.10.13) at 8pm on BBC One.