Bernard And Doris

In 1987, Irish butler Bernard Lafferty (Ralph Fiennes) arrived at the doorstep of tobacco heiress Doris Duke (Susan Sarandon). Fresh out of rehab and without a penny to his name, he faced an uphill battle in convincing his notoriously demanding boss to keep him on staff. A mere six years later, he had not only managed to remain employed, but had been granted control over Duke’s billion-dollar fortune. What might have happened during those in-between years is the subject of “Bernard And Doris,” debuting Saturday 9 February (8:00-9:45 p.m. ET/PT), exclusively on HBO. While “Bernard And Doris” explores issues of money, class and sexuality, at its core this HBO Films’ presentation is the imagined story of an extraordinary relationship between two real-life individuals who don’t fit into each other’s worlds.