CASANOVA was not known for disappointing the ladies.

But when David Tennant, the actor playing the young womaniser in a major BBC drama, turned up at Tabley House, not all the women were impressed.

For they had hoped the man playing Casanova in his later years - Peter O'Toole - would be there instead.

"The older ones among us were hoping for Peter O'Toole," said assistant administrator Brenda Folds.

"I met him when I was younger and he was so good to my friend and I that I've always had a soft spot for him."

Mr O'Toole last appeared on the big screen in the film epic Troy with Brad Pitt and Orlando Bloom.

But he was nowhere to be seen when the BBC film crew spent three days in Knutsford, shooting scenes in the chapel, tearoom and under the arches for a three-part drama.

Producers had chosen the 238-year-old stately home because its Palladian style was reminiscent of Casanova's home in Italy.

But changes did need to be made.

The clean and tidy tearoom was turned into the upstairs of an ancient inn for a death scene.

"They squirted damp coffee granules on the walls to make it look tacky," said assistant administrator Diane Tomlinson.

But they did clean up afterwards.

They repainted the tearoom and tidied most things away.

The only problems were straw and tomato ketchup, which had seeped into the floorboards.

"They did scrub all the coffee off the walls in the tearoom and repaint it," said Brenda.

The three-hour production, which is based on the life of Casanova, has been screened on the BBC for the past three weeks.