Henry VIII (ITV 2003, Ray Winstone, Sean Bean)

Ray Winstone brings history’s most beguiling monarch to life in this story of Henry VIII and his six wives, with Helena Bonham-Carter as scheming seductress Anne Boleyn and a star-studded cast including David Suchet, Emilia Fox, Sean Bean, Charles Dance, Mark Strong, Joss Ackland and Michael Maloney.

From the moment that Henry Tudor casts aside his faithful wife Katherine of Aragon for the bewitching and determined Anne Boleyn, he sets himself on a course of disastrous marriages. The pious yet tragic Jane Seymour, bitter outcast Anne of Cleves, the adulterous child bride Katherine Howard and his devoted carer Katherine Parr all followed, despite Anne’s bloody fate. The lucky ones were ruthlessly cast aside. The not so lucky ones were sent to their death.

ITV1’s tale of Henry VIII also reveals the destruction Henry often left in his wake during his extraordinary 38 year reign. Violent conflict, both within the population and the church, left England reeling while its complex and charismatic King turned from handsome playboy to a bitter invalid desperate for a son and heir to the throne.

Supporting cast include Emilia Fox as Jane Seymour, David Suchet as Cardinal Wolsey, Sean Bean as revolutionary Robert Aske, Charles Dance as the Duke of Buckingham, Mark Strong as the Duke of Norfolk and Michael Maloney as Archbishop Thomas Cranmer. Joss Ackland will make a cameo appearance as Henry VII.

production details
UK / ITV1 – Granada – Powercorp – WGBH Boston / 2×100 minute episodes / Broadcast 12-19 October 2003

Writer: Peter Morgan / Executive Producers: Andy Harries, Rebecca Eaton, Justin Bodle, Peter Morgan / Producer: Francis Hopkinson / Director: Pete Travis

cast
Ray Winstone as Henry VIII
Helena Bonham Carter as Anne Boleyn
Charles Dance as Duke of Buckingham
Danny Webb as Thomas Cromwell
Thomas Lockyer as Edward Seymour
Scott Handy as Lord Henry Percy
Mark Strong as Duke of Norfolk
Benjamin Whitrow as Thomas Boleyn
Dominic Mafham as George Boleyn
Emilia Fox as Jane Seymour
William Houston as Thomas Seymour
Christopher Good as Sir John Semour
Rhys Meredith as Thomas Smeeton
Michael Maloney as Thomas Cranmer
Edward Kelsey as Campeggio
Sean Bean as Robert Aske
Lara Belmont as Mary Tudor
Marsha Fitzalan as Duchess of Norfolk
Edward Tudor-Pole as Friar Peto
Pia Girard as Anne of Cleves
Emily Blunt as Katherine Howard
Kelly Hunter as Lady Rochford
Tom Turner as Francis Dereham
Terence Harvey as Bishop Gardiner
Joseph Morgan as Thomas Culpepper
Clare Holman as Katherine Parr