Victoria is a popular historical drama that follows the early life of Queen Victoria, from her ascension to the throne at only 18 years old, to her courtship and marriage to Prince Albert.
Written by Daisy Goodwin and starring Jenna Coleman as the young queen, the drama ran for three seasons on ITV from 2016 to 2019 and is also available to watch on Amazon Prime.
Victoria cast: series three
Jenna Coleman, Queen Victoria
Best known for sci-fi adventures with Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi in Doctor Who, Jenna also appeared in Emmerdale as Jasmine. You may also recognise her from Dancing on the Edge, Death Comes to Pemberley, Me before You, and most recently The Cry.
Tom Hughes, Prince Albert
Known for Casualty spin-off 1909, Cemetery Junction, Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll, The Lady Vanishes and BBC spy drama The Game . He’d already starred opposite his queen, Jenna Coleman, in Dancing on the Edge back in 2013.
Kate Fleetwood, Princess Feodora of Leiningen
Kate plays Victoria's sister Feodora. Best known for her stage work, the Tony and Olivier award nominated actress also has a long list of TV and film credits, including Philomena.
Ellen Evans, Adelheid
Adelheid, or Heidi, is Queen Victoria's niece, and 16-year-old daughter of Feodora.
Alex Jennings, King Leopold
As King of the Belgians, Leopold is a schemer and a slightly overbearing uncle to his niece Queen Victoria and nephew Prince Albert. In fact he was instrumental in pairing them up back in series one.
Alex Jennings is a three-time Olivier Award winner, but he has made recognisable forays into screens small and large. He has previous royal experience, taking on the role of Prince Charles in The Queen and Prince Edward in The Crown, as well as playing royalty of a more literary sort with his interpretation of Alan Bennett in The Lady in the Van. Other notable appearances include roles in Silk, Whitechapel and Belle.
Vincent Regan, King Louis Philippe
Originally played by Bruno Wolkowitch, Vincent took on the role of the King of France for series three. Vincent has played royalty before in The Royals, and has also appeared in The White Princess, Snatch, Undercover, Atlantis and Delicious.
Peter Bowles, Duke of Wellington
Tory leader and good friend of Victoria. Best known as Richard DeVere in To The Manor Born, Peter has a long list of roles to his name.
Anna Wilson-Jones, Lady Emma Portman
Lady Portman was one of Lord Melbourne's most trusted confidants. Her connections gained her a place as Queen Victoria's Lady In Waiting. You may know Anna from Spaced, Sugar Rush, Monarch of the Glen, Ashes to Ashes, Black Mirror and DCI Banks.
Lily Travers, Duchess Sophie of Monmouth
Lily plays Queen Victoria's Mistress of the Robes. You may recognise her from Kingsman, Dr Who, Still Star-Crossed, Me Before You and The Royals.
Nicholas Audsley, Duke of Monmouth
Nicholas plays Sophie's cruel husband, who she's all too happy to escape with her new role at the queen's side. He played Lord Strange in The White Princess, and has also appeared in Foyle’s War, Silent Witness and Midsomer Murders.
John Sessions, Prime Minister John Russell
John Sessions plays PM John Russell, who was in power from 1846 to 1852. The comedian and actor is a regular on panel shows such as QI and Whose Line Is It Anyway? He's also appeared in a variety of TV and films including Outlander and Florence Foster Jenkins.
Laurence Fox, Foreign Secretary Lord Palmerston
A major player in the politics of the era, and one Victoria took a dislike to, Lord Palmerston was a new face in the third series. You may know Laurence as DI James Hathaway from Lewis.
Jordan Waller, Lord Alfred Paget
Jordan plays courtier and Liberal politician Lord Paget, but prior to Victoria was not a familiar face.
David Newman, Henry Cole
Cole worked closely with Prince Albert to bring to life the Great Exhibition, held in the 'Crystal Palace' in Hyde Park in 1851. David has also appeared in other royal dramas, including his role as Richard the Lionheart in The Windsors.
Hilton McRae, Combe
George Combe was a Scottish lawyer who led the phrenological movement for more than 20 years during the Victorian era. The Scottish actor Hilton is known for his work across stage, TV and film. Recent screen credits include Darkest Hour, The Sense of an Ending, and A Private War.
Sam Swainsbury, Dr John Snow
Dr Snow is known for his work on anaesthesia, medical hygiene and studying the sources of disease. You may know Sam from Call the Midwife, Doctors and Fearless.
Laura Morgan, Florence Nightingale
The social reformer, statistician and nurse requires little introduction, being a well-known figure thanks to her work in the 1850s caring for soldiers wounded in the Crimean War.
The actress’s screen credits include Maggie Cotton in serial killer drama Dark Angel, and Joan of Arc in The Hollow Crown.
Pandora Clifford, Lady Emily Palmerston
Wife to Lord Palmerston and younger sister to Lord Melbourne. The actress Pandora has made recent appearances in Fearless, Press, and Doctors.
CJ Beckford, Cuffay
The real-life Chartist leader was the son of a former slave and a British woman, and rejected the timidity of his movement.
Adrian Schiller, Mr Penge
Adrian plays grouchy head steward Penge, who has corrupt ideas about palace management. You may recognise Adrian from Beauty and the Beast, Going Postal, Silk or The Hollow Crown.
Sabrina Bartlett, Abigail Turner
Abigail is a seamstress who joins the Queen's staff in series three. You may also recognise Sabrina from her role as Keren Smith in Poldark.
Kerr Logan, Patrick Fitzgerald
An Irish Chartist, who befriends seamstress Abigail. The actor appeared as Matthos in Game of Thrones. He's also been in London Irish, My Family and Other Strangers, Alias Grace, and Strike and Genius.
Tommy Knight, Archibald Brodie
Brodie is a hallboy with big ambitions. Doctor Who fans will known Tommy Knight as Luke Smith from The Sarah Jane Adventures, but you may also recognise him as Kevin Chalk from Waterloo Road, Glue’s murder victim, Caleb ‘Cal’ Bra or Dealer Dan from You, Me and The Apocalypse.
David Burnett, Joseph Weld
A new footman at Buckingham Palace, and love interest of Sophie.
Edwin Thomas, Mr Caine
Edwin plays Bertie's tutor. You may also know him from Midsomer Murders, The Happy Prince, or Endeavour.
Nell Hudson, Nancy Skerrett
Nell's character Nancy is loosely based on a real-life member of the palace serving staff. Prior to Victoria Nell appeared in Outlander and Holby City.
Ferdinand Kingsley, Francatelli
Based on a real chef in Victoria’s household, Charles Elme Francatelli is of Italian descent, but grew up in London and studied cookery in France. He departed the palace at the end of series two, but Skerrett was able to persuade him to return and the two finally became engaged during the Christmas special.
Ferdinand may be familiar from his roles in The Hollow Crown, Ripper Street, Borgia, Agatha Christie’s Poirot and Dracula Untold.
Victoria cast: series one and two
Other faces you may recognise from Victoria include:
Diana Rigg, Duchess of Buccleuch
Rufus Sewell, Lord Melbourne
Daniela Holtz, Baroness Lehzen
Nigel Lindsay, Sir Robert Peel
Catherine Flemming, Duchess of Kent
David Oakes, Prince Ernest
Margaret Clunie, Duchess of Sutherland (Harriet)
Tilly Steele, Cleary
Bebe Cave, Wilhelmina Coke
Leo Suter, Drummond
Louisa Bay, Princess Vicky
Eve Myles, Mrs. Jenkins
Siobhan O'Carroll, Lady Lyttelton
Robin Soans, Sir James Clark
Andrew Bicknell, Duke of Coburg
Peter Firth, Duke of Cumberland
Peter Ivatts, Archbishop of Canterbury
Tom Price, Duke of Sutherland
Nichola McAuliffe, Duchess of Cumberland
Gregory Mann, William Monmouth
Emerald Fennell, Lady Lovelace
Behind the scenes of Victoria
Our celeb-guru Alison James chats to actress Jenna Coleman and takes us behind the scenes to discover some of the show’s secrets.
“We really delve into Victoria and Albert’s marriage in the series," says Jenna. "Although theirs is a very passionate match, there are many clashes because they’re so different. Albert is logical, shy and methodical while Victoria is selfish, emotionally led, reactive and impulsive.
"There’s also a power struggle – he takes over her working role when she’s pregnant, giving birth and recovering from childbirth and she resents it. Similarly, Albert is resentful when Victoria takes up her duties again. There’s great tension as well as great love.”
Jenna confides that in order to keep the tension going during Victoria and Albert’s arguments, she and actor Tom Hughes, didn’t always rehearse these scenes before filming them.
“Sometimes when you rehearse too much, you take the edge off the fire that should be there,” Jenna continues. “The dialogue is wonderful, so it’s best to ‘go bold’. When you know someone well, there is a kind of shorthand you can tap in to and you work off and challenge each other.
"It’s fun filming the arguments. In one scene, I had to throw a hairbrush at Tom and it broke as it hit him. There’s a feeling of elation when you do a scene like that because the level of adrenalin is so high. I’m not at all confrontational so it’s fascinating to play someone like Victoria who is.”
Victoria as a mother
Obviously motherhood takes centre stage in this series, and as we reach season two and three there's a whole new dynamic to Victoria.
“By the time we get to the eighth and final episode in season two, Victoria has three children,” Jenna explains. “It was a challenge for her but for us, too. Working with three small children is very interesting. The set turns into a bit of a crèche and their mums and grannies are often dressed up as nursemaids to keep the children happy. One little girl wanted her mum with her all the time so she crouched down out of shot, hiding behind a pillar, so they could play a game! Then the twins, who play Victoria’s third child, Alice, didn’t like to be separated so sometimes there would be two baby Alice’s on set but we’d keep one out of shot!”
It’s widely thought that Victoria disliked being a mother and found her children a nuisance but Jenna (31) says this is yet another misconception.
“She was resentful because she felt they had spoiled the early years of her marriage and she and Albert hardly had any time to themselves as newlyweds. She wishes she hadn’t been ‘caught’, as she called it, so early. But reading her diaries, you can see that she was a doting mother and family was very important. We went to Osborne House on the Isle of Wight during the making of this series. Victoria, Albert and their family are the only people ever to have lived there and, although it’s palatial, it’s also homely and cosy. Victoria represents a cosy home and domesticity in addition to everything else. There are so many aspects to her; this is what makes her so fascinating to play. I don’t know if I’d say she’s a role model for women today and we’re not projecting her as a heroine because she was flawed and very human. But her position and the way she was brought up would have caused many people to lose their spirit and fire yet she never did. That makes me love her all the more.”
Victoria costumes and locations
The sumptuous private apartments and state rooms in ‘Victoria’ look straight out of a real palace but apart from the kitchens, which are filmed in the perfectly preserved period kitchens of Harewood House in Yorkshire, the sets have been built from scratch in a former aircraft hanger.
“Our genius production designer, Michael Howells, transformed it into Buckingham Palace,” says producer Paul Frith.
“The chandeliers were found in the Czech Republic, the carpets have been specially printed, the period furniture is plain wooden furniture gilded by art students, the decoration on the mirrors are sprayed scallop shells, the ornate breastplates are from a party shop and sprayed gold, the ornaments, pottery and glassware have been sourced from auctions, and the pillars are wooden but painted to look like marble.”
Award-winning costume designer Rosalind Ebutt, aided by various costumiers, is responsible for the exquisite costumes.
“It's exciting as we cover a range of years and the fashion moves on too. Waists are lower and more pointed, skirts more bell-shaped and bonnetsare duifferent, too,” explains Rosalind.
“Victoria has some stunning evening gowns and striking day dresses. I study images of Queen Victoria to research her wardrobe but don’t copy them; I aim to make them look interesting and different all the time. Many of the corsets are custom made. The several petticoats required to make the ‘bell’ shape are very heavy so we use duvet petticoats instead. Made from a duvet, they are far lighter to wear! Our soldiers’ uniforms are made by specialists and rented – it’s very important to get that right.”
Why Jenna Coleman turned down her part in Victoria twice
We love Jenna Coleman as Queen Victoria and can’t imagine anyone else taking on the role, which is why we can’t believe that she turned down the role of Victoria twice before agreeing to do it.
Speaking to Radio Times, she revealed that at first, she was reluctant to start another long-running show following her four year stint in Doctor Who.
She said: "I had just finished doing nearly four years on 'Doctor Who' and I didn’t want to do another long TV project.
"I wanted to do lots of different things, but now I’m doing 'Victoria', I find her quite addictive."
Jenna has admitted she’s not sure how long her part in Victoria will continue for.
"In season three she’s starting to look a bit more matronly, she’s had six or seven children, so a bit wider, bit more of a bust, the make-up is more drawn … but there will come a point in her story when no amount of prosthetic make-up or me lowering my voice will be convincing enough."
Will Victoria return for series 4?
Many of us have been waiting for the fourth series of Victoria since it was last on-air in 2019 but don’t expect it to hit our screens any time soon.
According to Jenna Coleman, the period drama will take a “bit of a breather” before a potential series four as the team decides where to take the story next.
Speaking to Graham Norton on his BBC Radio 2 show, the actress said: “[Victoria] is definitely going to take a break, bit of a breather and then we’re working out [what to do next].”
She added: “There’s a lot of conversations: do you start at the Crimean War, or do you start later? I mean there’s too much story, unless I literally did commit until I am 63.”
While there have been rumours that the show has been cancelled due to a decline in viewership, ITV issued a statement that said: "There are no plans presently to film Victoria, but that's not to say we won't revisit the series with the production team at a later date."
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