Producers have today confirmed that Rufus Sewell is to join the Doctor Who actress in her new show as Lord Melbourne, Victoria’s first prime minister with whom she enjoyed a close friendship which became a popular source of gossip that threatened to destabilise the Government.
Appearing alongside the pair are Paul Rhys (The Assets, Borgia, Being Human) as the ambitious Sir John Conroy who controlled Victoria’s upbringing, Peter Firth as the Queen’s conniving uncle the Duke of Cumberland and Catherine Flemming as the Duchess of Kent, Queen Victoria’s mother.
And there are two more faces from the world of Doctor Who – Eve Myles plays Mrs Jenkins, the Queen’s senior dresser while Tommy-Lawrence Knight also joins the royal household as the hall boy, Brodie.
Other confirmed cast members include Adrian Schiller, Nichola McAuliffe, Daniela Holtz and Nell Hudson, Nigel Lindsay and Alice Orr-Ewing.
The series will open with a 90-minute episode, followed by 7 one-hour episodes, starts filming in locations around the North of England this month.