THE VIRGIN QUEEN (TV SHOW)

'''The Virgin Queen''' was a 2005 BBC four-part miniseries based upon the life of Queen Elizabeth I, starring Anne-Marie Duff. As a drama, it focused heavily on the Elizabeth's private life - particularly her relationship with Robert Dudley, and explored the politics of her reign in rather less depth.
It was originally intended to air first on the BBC in September 2005, but as the date would have coincided with the release of the Channel 4 two-part mini ''Elizabeth I'' (starring Helen Mirren), it was decided to delay the BBC release until January 2006, two months after the US opening in November 2005 on PBS' ''Masterpiece Theatre''.
Despite being a biopic of Elizabeth's life and reign, the series presented its main character with particular interest in several themes, most notably Elizabeth's belief in her divine right to rule and also the emotional impact of her mother's execution.
The drama played up the ambiguity of Elizabeth's virginity, featuring a scene where Elizabeth fantasizes about making love to Dudley. However, Anne-Marie Duff later stated that the director and scriptwriter explicitly told her to play the queen as a life-long virgin.

Contents

Historical accuracy

Cast and credits

Cast

Production credits

Filming locations

Trivia

See also

Sources

Historical accuracy

Described by its producers as "... [a] regal portrait ... steeped in historical accuracy", the series followed the general flow of history, but deviated from historical truth in numerous ways, such as:

★ In the film, Elizabeth meets with Lettice Knollys after a long estrangement. In fact, Elizabeth snubbed Lettice, although Essex arranged the meeting.

★ Elizabeth died standing up in the movie. In reality, she was persuaded to lie on a pile of cushions, then later to proceed to her bed, where she died.

Cast and credits

Cast

★ Elizabeth I - Anne-Marie Duff

★ Earl of Leicester - Tom Hardy

★ Earl of Essex - Hans Matheson

★ Lord Burghley - Ian Hart

★ Thomas Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Sussex - Dexter Fletcher

★ Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk - Kevin McKidd

★ Robert Cecil - Daniel Evans

★ Queen Mary - Joanne Whalley

★ Lettice Knollys - Sienna Guillory

★ Sir Francis Walsingham - Ben Daniels

★ Lord Chancellor Gardiner - Robert Pugh

★ Amy, Lady Dudley - Emilia Fox

★ Philip II of Spain - Stanley Townsend

★ Kat Ashley - Tara Fitzgerald

★ Sir James Melville - Ewen Bremner

★ Mary, Queen of Scots - Charlotte Winner

★ Sir Walter Raleigh - Derek Riddell

★ Charles Blount, 1st Earl of Devonshire - Sebastian Armesto

★ Francis Bacon - Neil Stuke

Production credits

★ Producer - Paul Rutman

★ Director - Coky Giedroyc

★ Writer - Paula Milne

★ Composer - Martin Phipps

★ Director of Photography - David Odd

★ Production Designer - Donal Wood

★ Film Editor - Joe Walker

★ Make Up Supervisor - Karen Hartley

★ Costume Designer - Amy Roberts

★ Casting Director - Nina Gold

★ Executive Producers - Justin Bode, Laura Mackie, Kate Harwood, Simon Curtis

Filming locations

★ Alnwick Castle (Execution scenes)

★ Baddesley Clinton, Warwickshire (Dudley's home)

★ Chastleton House (Whitehall Palace interiors and gardens)

★ Chillingham Castle (Fotheringhay)

★ Labyrinthine Keep at Warkworth Castle (Tower of London)

★ London's Middle Temple (Receiving Chamber)

★ Lord Leycester hospital (the Strand)

★ New College, Oxford (Anointment room)

★ Raby Castle (Whitehall Palace)

Trivia

★ The original soundtrack composed by Martin Phipps features vocals by the Mediæval Bæbes, and the track played during the opening sequence features lyrics derived from a poem written by the historical Elizabeth I.

See also

★ Historical drama film

★ BBC television drama

★ BBC

★ PBS

Sources

★ http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/virginqueen/index.html

★ http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/enewsletter/20051021.html

★ http://www.metacritic.com/tv/shows/virginqueen

★ http://www.themakeupgallery.info/period/c16/elizabeth/virgin.htm

★ http://imdb.com/title/tt0481459/

★ http://www.bbc.co.uk/drama/virginqueen/