Victoria (ITV 2016, Jenna Coleman, Rufus Sewell)

Victoria is an ITV period drama series telling the life story of Queen Victoria beginning with her accession to the throne in 1837. It premiered on 28 August 2016.

The cast is led by Jenna Coleman as Victoria with Tom Hughes as Prince Albert. Rufus Sewell plays prime minister and confidant Lord Melbourne.

Positive critical acclaim and good viewing figures has led to the show being talked about as a successor to Downton Abbey.

ITV have confirmed a second season and a Christmas special and there have been reports that the network would like six seasons in total to cover the whole of Victoria’s reign…

On the death of her uncle King William IV in 1837, the 18-year-old Princess Victoria becomes queen. Her mother the Duchess of Kent, influenced by her advisor Sir John Conroy, tries to dominate the young monarch. Victoria copes with the unknown with the help of her prime minister Lord Melbourne.

They are enchanted by each other, Victoria by the older man’s erudite wisdom and experience, and he by the young queen’s lack of guile. Gossip erupts over the closeness of their relationship and Melbourne, fearing scandal, retreats, leaving Victoria prey to Conroy’s machinations.

Against Melbourne’s express instructions, Victoria rushes into an ill-considered accusation and the celebration of her coronation is abruptly curtailed when she learns that she has covered the crown in scandal. Conroy hopes to establish a regency, but Melbourne’s confidence in the young queen alleviates her despair and protects her from those seeking to undermine her. Jenna Coleman as Victoria and Rufus Sewell as Lord Melbourne

The series follows Victoria from her first faltering steps as a capricious, hormonal teenager with a weak grasp on her duties and responsibilities to her marriage to Albert. The show is a saga of interlocking circles – the circuits of power in Buckingham Palace and Westminster, the intermarrying royal houses of Europe and the scandals of the below-stairs palace staff. At the centre stands the new Queen – a spirited, passionate woman who must, somehow, become an enduring icon of stability and strength.

production details
UK / ITV – Mammoth Screen / 8×60 minute episodes / Broadcast Sunday 28 August 2016 –

Writer: Daisy Goodwin / Music: Ruth Barrett, Mearl / Executive Producers: Daisy Goodwin, Dan McCulloch, Damien Timmer

cast
Jenna Coleman as Queen Victoria
Tom Hughes as Prince Albert
Eve Myles as Mrs. Jenkins
Tommy Knight as Brodie
Rufus Sewell as Lord Melbourne
Peter Firth as the Duke of Cumberland
Paul Rhys as Sir John Conroy
Catherine Flemming as the Duchess of Kent
Nichola McAuliffe as the Duchess of Cumberland
Daniela Holtz as Baroness Lehzen
Nigel Lindsay as Sir Robert Peel
Alice Orr-Ewing as Lady Flora Hastings
Gabriel Constantin as Monsieur Philippe