The first image of Jenna Coleman as a young Queen Victoria has been unveiled.
Doctor Who actress Jenna, 29, stars in the eight-part ITV series Victoria, which follows the early part of the monarch’s reign – from her accession to the throne at the age of 18 in 1838, through to her courtship and marriage to Prince Albert two years later.
Jenna Coleman in Victoria (ITV)
Victoria went on to rule for 63 years, and was the country’s longest-serving monarch until she was overtaken by Elizabeth II on September 9 this year.
The actress currently stars as Doctor Who’s companion, Clara Oswald, but is set to leave the show during this series. She will reportedly be killed off in November in an episode called Face The Raven.
Jenna Coleman and Peter Capaldi (Ian West/PA)
After her casting was announced in September, Jenna 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.”
Rufus Sewell has been announced as Lord Melbourne, the first prime minister during Victoria’s rule, who had an intimate friendship with the monarch which became a popular source of gossip and threatened to destabilise the Government.
Rufus Sewell (Jordan Strauss/Invision)
The drama starts filming in locations around the north of England this month.
The series will open with a 90-minute episode, followed by seven one-hour episodes.
