Jenna Coleman to star as Queen Victoria in major new ITV drama Victoria

Jenna Coleman to star as Queen Victoria in major new ITV drama Victoria

ITV has today announced that Jenna Coleman (Doctor Who, Death Comes to Pemberley, Dancing on the Edge) will star as a young Queen Victoria in their major new drama series Victoria.

The ambitious 8-part drama follows the early life of Queen Victoria, from her ascension to the throne at the tender age of 18, through to her courtship and marriage to Price Albert. Victoria went on to rule for 63 years, and was our longest serving monarch until she was overtaken by Elizabeth II on 9th September this year.

Jenna Coleman said: I am delighted to be cast as Queen Victoria in this ambitious drama of her life. She is a vivid, strong, inspirational and utterly fascinating woman in British history and I can t wait to tell her story.

Victoria will be made by Mammoth Screen, producers of Poldark (BBC One) and Endeavour (ITV), and the series is created and written by acclaimed novelist Daisy Goodwin, in her screenwriting debut.

Daisy will serve as executive producer alongside Dan McCulloch (Endeavour, Indian Summers) and Mammoth Screen's Managing Director Damien Timmer (Parade's End, Poldark).

The series will open with a 90-minute episode, followed by 7 one-hour episodes. Tom Vaughan (Doctor Foster, He Knew He Was Right, Starter For Ten) opens the series as director and Paul Frift (Doctor Who, That Day We Sang, Room at the Top) will produce the landmark series.

Further casting is underway for the drama, which starts filming in locations around the North of England this October.

Victoria has been commissioned by ITV's Director of Drama Steve November and Controller of Drama Victoria Fea.

The series will be distributed internationally by ITV Studios Global Entertainment.

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About Daisy Goodwin

Daisy Goodwin studied History at Cambridge. She has written two novels set in the Victorian era, My Last Duchess and The Fortune Hunter, both bestsellers in the UK and America. She has worked as a journalist and edited nine poetry anthologies including The Nation s Favourite Love Poems. Daisy has had a long career in TV, devising shows including Bookworm, The Nation's Favourite Poems, Home Front and Grand Designs. She was Editorial Director of Talkback Productions and founded Silver River Productions.

About Mammoth Screen

Mammoth Screen is one of the UK s leading independent production companies. Forthcoming work includes Poldark II and And Then There Were None for BBC One, Endeavour III and Black Work for ITV, Opposite Number for Channel 4, Tripped for E4 and Agatha Raisin for Sky 1.

LINK:	http://www.itv.com/presscentre/press-releases/jenna-coleman-star-queen...
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