A&E Network title Change - The Last King

http://www.aetv.com/global/listings/series_showcase.jsp?EGrpType=Series&Id=10264957&NetwCode=AEN

Premieres: Sunday, Mar 21 @ 8pm ET/PTMovie. Sweeping drama about the turbulent reign of England's Charles II, the dashing king known for his many mistresses and court intrigues. Weary and destitute after his father's execution and a decade in exile, Charles restored the monarchy in 1660 and ruled for 25 years--a reign filled with religious strife, power brawls with Parliament, 1665's Great Plague, the Fire of London, and myriad royal liaisons with the most fetching women of his day. Stars Rufus Sewell, Rupert Graves and Diana Rigg. (200  TV 14-S About The Last King : This original A&E production is the dramatic and romantic story of Charles II of England, the “merry monarch,” the last king to rule before Parliament completely took over the government. He loves racing, gambling, music, art and women. He sires over a dozen children with his many mistresses, yet his one marriage is barren. Charles’s England is torn between Catholics and Protestants, it’s a reign marked by revenge, plague, intrigue, pleasure and romance. A&E ORIGINAL MOVIE: THE LAST KING begins when Charles is destitute, weary and hopeless after nearly a decade in exile from England. Even his oldest and dearest friend, the Duke of Buckingham, has abandoned him to make peace with the despicable Oliver Cromwell, the Protestant leader who now rules England. Finally, after Cromwell's death, Parliament is persuaded to invite Charles to return and take his place as king. On his 30th birthday, Charles rides into London in triumph. This long-awaited conquest is accompanied in short order by another one: Charles’s successful seduction of the beautiful and tantalizing Barbara Villiers. Barbara becomes the king’s mistress and confidently goes about preparing to welcome the queen-to-be: Catherine Braganza, a Portuguese princess. Barbara becomes Catherine’s chief lady-in-waiting. But when Catherine’s attempt at childbearing fails, pressure mounts for Charles to divorce and marry someone who would bear an heir. Barbara grooms the beautiful Frances Stewart for the role, but Frances is in love with another and flees the court. Charles’s marriage holds. As an all-consuming fire rages through London, destroying wide swaths of the city. Charles and his brother James fight gallantly to contain it. Many see the fire as a sign of God’s judgment on Charles’s character and his licentious court. The sparkling, streetwise Nell Gwynn soon captures Charles’s affections – and another royal mistress is born. When Charles’s sister Minette dies unexpectedly, his sister’s beautiful lady-in-waiting Louise da Keroualle comforts the monarch. Such attention in his time of need also earns Louise a place the ranks of royal mistresses. With the violent struggles between Protestants and Catholics swirling around him, Charles is informed of a murder plot against him and of a plan to deny his brother James succession to the throne. So Charles simply dissolves Parliament and rules as absolute monarch. He lives his final years in relative peace and on his deathbed repays Catherine for her faithful devotion by converting to Catholicism.     Photogallery Click here to see the photos from the movie. Discussions Rufus Sewell Read an excerpt of the interview with Rufus Sewell.

thanks, Rai

People Magazine
Picks and Pans - TV Drama
March 29, 2004

The Last King
A&E (Sunday, March 21, 8 p.m. ET)

Baudiness ruled in the court of Englad's Charles II, a 17th-century monarch with a small army of mistresses and illegitimate children.  But political and religious disputes also competed for the king's time, along with a plague outbreak and a huge fire that devastated London.

It's hard to cover Charles's tumultous, 25-year reign in a four-hour film, and I confess I'm glad that the script stresses the sexy stuff.  When the king (Rufus Sewell) and his advisers discuss Protestant-Catholic hostility and Parliament's power of the purse, viewers who aren't students of this historical period will find their minds drifting to the question of which privy councillor has the curliest wig.

Sewell is effective as a man whose compassion and tolerance are less constant than his desire to retain powere and satisfy his lust. The main female roles compose a well-cast study in contrasts:Diana Rigg as Charles's rigid mother; Shirley Henderson as his mousy,loyal wife; Helen Mccrory as his scheming, sexually insatiable mistress-in-chief; and Emma Pierson as the saucy actress who makes the king her biggest fan.

rating: 2 1/2 stars out of 4

Rufus Sewell, Rupert Graves and Diana Rigg Star in the A&E Network(R) Original Movie
Thursday January 8, 4:55 pm ET

THE LAST KING 

A Four-Hour North American Premiere Airing Sunday March 21 at 8PM/7C HOLLYWOOD, Calif., Jan. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- When the dashing Charles II celebrated his 30th birthday by returning from exile and reclaiming his throne, no one knew he would be the final British monarch to wield such power over his countrymen. A&E Network presents the North American Premiere of the A&E/BBC co-production THE LAST KING, starring Rufus Sewell, Rupert Graves and Diana Rigg. The four-hour Original Movie airs Sunday, March 21, 2004 at 8pm/7C.

THE LAST KING is the sweeping story of King Charles II's most turbulent life -- his tumultuous rule, his squabbling family and his numerous romantic indiscretions. Set at the crossroads of British history, just as the monarchy was being swept away by democracy. Charles II was a sensual and romantic man -- one who loved the arts almost as much as he loved women, and a politician who was willing to do nearly anything to keep his power.

Rufus Sewell (A Knight's Tale, "Helen of Troy") stars as Charles II. Rupert Graves ("The Forsythe Saga," The Madness of King George) is the Duke of Buckingham, Charles' trusted friend; Diana Rigg (VICTORIA & ALBERT, "The Avengers") is Queen Henrietta Maria, the King's volatile mother; Martin Freeman ("Ali G Indahouse," "The Office", Love Actually) is Shaftesbury, Charles's political nemesis and former minister; Shirley Henderson (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Bridget Jones's Diary) is Queen Catherine; Christian Coulson (HORATIO HORNBLOWER, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets) is the Duke of Monmouth, the eldest of Charles's illegitimate children; Charlie Creed Miles (Nil by Mouth) is Charles's brother James; Alice Patten is the demur Lady Francis Stewart, who manages to escape Charles's renowned sexual advances; Helen McCrory (The Count of Monte Cristo) is the aristocratic and promiscuous Barbara Villiers; Emma Pierson (Virtual Sexuality) is folk heroine and sex symbol Nell Gwynnel; and Melanie Thierry (The Legend of 1900) is the French spy Louise de Keroualle.

After nearly a decade in exile, Charles II is destitute, weary and virtually hopeless. Even the Duke of Buckingham, his oldest and dearest friend, abandons him to make peace with Oliver Cromwell, the military leader in control of Britain. Charles' hope is all but lost when Cromwell suddenly dies, and Cromwell's son takes his place.

But history takes a surprising turn when General George Monck persuades Parliament to invite Charles back into power. His triumphant ride into London on his 30th birthday is joined by another sweet conquest -- the long -- anticipated seduction of the alluring Barbara Villiers. With the witty and virile Charles siring illegitimate children all over the place, the need for a queen and a legitimate heir becomes paramount. Barbara is sufficiently confident not to feel threatened by the arrival of the future Queen, Catherine of Portugal, whose pious disposition at first is no match for the more worldly and cunning mistress.

Charles' reign is remembered as "Merry Olde England," but in truth, it was an extremely turbulent time politically, including a disastrous war with Holland. During his 25-year rule, England experienced virulent anti- Catholicism, and yet Charles himself secretly converted on his deathbed. The King was in fact a raucous gambler, a libidinous womanizer, the unapologetic father of at least seven illegitimate children, an impassioned lover of the arts, a ruthless political survivor, and the monarch who ultimately ushered in a true and lasting democracy -- whether he favored it or not!

Delia Fine serves as the executive producer for A&E Network® on THE LAST KING. It is directed by Joe Wright (Nature Boy) and produced by Kate Harwood (THE LOST WORLD). The teleplay is by Adrian Hodges (THE LOST WORLD, LORNA DOONE, "David Copperfield") and Laura Mackie is the executive producer for the BBC.
thanks, Nadine!!!

DVD(and VHS) Release: Region II February 16, 2004

by Gary (The Sunday Times)

New Charles II Gallery

Reviews

New BBC Charles II website Message board
This is the place to discuss the drama and, exclusively, read Rufus's answers to selected questions!

Radio Times
The King of Cool
read the interview

 The People Magazine
November 9, 2003

                   
   Finishing off the royal moustache         Rufus has his royal wig put in place. 'It was really sweltering during filming in
  Rufus had his hair cropped so he           Prague but we took off our wigs for some scenes," he says.
  could wear big wigs.
                
                                
Charles II looks at a portrait of his late father.   Set in           Striking a suitably seductive pose, Barbara Villiers
one of the great rooms at the Palace of Whitehall,                  the King's scheming mistress, played bu Helen McCrory,             
Charles's quarters were based on rooms at Hampton            awaits her would be lover - Charles's illegitimate son
Court by Sir Christopher Wren, recreated in Prague.            the Duke of Monmouth.                                                                                                                                                                                   



      
The Office star Martin Freeman as Lord Shartesbury, one
of Charles's most important ministers.  "The director had
seen me do serious stuff before and he thought I could do
this part," Martin says.  "I only hope I've  pulled it off."

Some things never change, like being entertained by a host of royals behaving badly.  and with the return of the hunky Rufus Sewell - star of A Kinght's Tale - as the charismatic but devious 17th Century monarch, King Charles II, we're in for a royal treat.

Set in the corridors and bedrooms of power, BBC1's new four-part spectarular begins with the young king in exlie before he returns to England and transforms into the infamous Merry Monarch, before his death in 1685.  Rufus, 36, was thrilled to give Hollywood a break and return to the small screen.

"It was the personal side of Charles that I found most fascinating," he says.  "He was a very manipulative man but he did have a blind spot - women."
His many mistresses included the beautiful Barbara Villiers, played by Helen McCrory, and theatre star Nell Gwynne, played by Emma Pierson.  He was married to the virginal Queen Catherine of Braganza (Shirley Henderson), who was unable to bear him a child, but he had several illegitimate ones from his numerous conquests.

Says Rufus:  "It was embarrassing filming all the bedroon scenes, but they had to look as real as possible.   You don't acrually see that much, which is good because watching people bump and grind can be boring.  But it does look as if we've really been going for it!"
Charles IIm BBC1 Sunday, November 16, 9 pm

November 15, 2003
The Times

The bling bling king
Joanna Hunter survives royalty, rakes, fops and fools on the set of Charles II

AT FIRST COUNT, there are 19 people watching over the director’s monitor in the castle forecourt. A few feet away is a horse-drawn carriage and, above it, standing on a raised platform, Rufus Sewell and Charlie Creed-Miles recheck their flowing lace cuffs and shoulder-length periwigs. Orders are being shouted, first in English, and then in Czech. It’s 37C (88F) at Tocnik Castle, near Prague; the horses are restless and, once again, the “royal” spaniels have disgraced themselves. But then nobody said it would be easy playing a king.

Yes, after Ray Winstone as Henry VIII and Prunella Scales playing Queen Victoria comes yet another historical drama. Charles II, starring Sewell in the title role, is a four-part BBC drama. And while viewers might be forgiven for crying off the programme with history fatigue, Charles II comes with an emphasis on the individual — “someone learning to be the master of their own destiny ”, as the director Joe Wright puts it. “I can’t stand dry politics and dry history,” he says. “It has to be engaging on a personal level. It’s more important that people can relate to it in terms of their relationship with their children, or their lovers, or their wives, or even themselves.”

The appealing thing about Charles II, especially when compared with Henry VIII and Victoria, is that it is refreshingly unfamiliar. Charles, who reigned from 1660-85, remains an enigmatic figure. His father was beheaded, but Charles junior survived both Cromwell and exile to retake the throne at the age of 30 — which is where the BBC’s drama starts. Once on the throne Charles didn’t face an easy ride, what with the warring Dutch abroad, the bitter and bloody Protestant-Catholic divide at home, the Great Plague and the Great Fire of London.

Constitutionally, Charles is important because he was the last British king to attempt to rule absolutely without Parliament. He was also something of a dandy, with a penchant for shoulder-length curly wigs and a court that was renowned — or, according to many of Charles’s puritan subjects, notorious — for its flamboyance.

“What strikes you is how bling bling it is,” says Rupert Graves, who, as Charles’s mercurial best friend, the Duke of Buckingham, gets to wear more than his fair share of finery. “They went in for really aggressive shows of grandeur, just dripping in gold with huge hair and make-up. It was very sexy.” It was indeed: on top of his regal duties the King also found time for 12 mistresses and 13 illegitimate children.

The booty culture isn’t the only parallel that can be drawn between the Restoration period and today. “One of the things about a political story like this is that there’s no limit to what you can say, you can even exaggerate it — no one is going to sue,” says Graves. “And there are so many parallels between then and now. Politically, Charles creates a Parliament and a King’s Council, which are like new Labour. The Dutch war stuff is very similar to the Iraqi war, too, with people saying the same sort of things, such as ‘it’ll be over in a week’ and ‘we have to get rid of these tyrants’.” But he is too tactful to mention any points of comparison between contemporary royals and their paramours.

If the monarch’s life sounds epic, this production is not far off that either. Sewell lords it over a line-up that includes Dame Diana Rigg as Henrietta Maria, the King’s mother, and Ian McDiarmid as his chief minister Sir Edward Hyde. As well as such stalwarts, Charles II gives several actors — such as Martin Freeman from The Office, and Creed-Miles, better known for his roles in Nil By Mouth and The Fifth Element, but here playing a king — the chance to take on roles that audiences might not expect of them.

“You look around the court scene and the actors and you think: ‘Wow — these are people I really like’, ” says Freeman, who, despite the fact that he is playing it straight for a change, as Charles’s nemesis, Shaftesbury, is no mean shakes in the popularity stakes himself. “It’s not the usual suspects,” Freeman continues. “We’re all young enough to still be hungry, not all too fat and complacent having done this 20 times. We’re really keen to do it well. And that’s why it’s great to work with someone like Ian McDiarmid. Whenever I’m in doubt I just look at what he’s doing and try to copy it. I’m just doing a really bad imitation of him. He’s probably quite embarrassed about it.”

Even if it weren’t for the big names, the sheer size of the cast would be daunting — add a further 101 speaking characters, as well as some 1,500 extras, and you can see that the BBC means business. The number-crunching doesn’t stop with the cast, either. Wright’s vision doesn’t just encompass an era, but a whole world. And so, owing to a lack of suitable buildings in Britain and, of course, the strength of the pound against the koruna, the entire production was moved to the Czech Republic. There they used 14 different locations, and even recreated Whitehall — what was a disused car factory in Prague became a 150ft by 80ft (45x24m) set, with all 14 rooms laid out exactly as if they were in the palace and decorated with 20 paintings and glass that was hand-blown locally.

“The fact that the sets have been built so that you can walk from one room to another, the way that you can in a normal house — you’ve got your bedroom that leads to your little closet that leads to your little kingly velvet toilet — means you’re not constantly reminded that it’s a fake,” says Sewell. “It’s a big help. Generally in films, when you walk through a door, it’s all polystyrene, so you have to work harder to put yourself in that world.”

At Tocnik Castle (where most of the exteriors were being shot in June earlier this year) they have created more of that world, including reconstructing a London street (with three six-storey Tudor buildings), the Holbein Gate, which used to stand at the entrance to Whitehall Square, and the Houses of Parliament. At this stage the only thing they have yet to plan is how they are going to tackle the Great Fire of London.

“If I could change one historical fact I would boot out the fire of London,” admits the producer, Kate Harwood. No such luck.

Other historical details have proved easier to deal with. With so many mistresses, viewers might be forgiven for hoping that Charles II might have a deal of royal romping. “When you read the script you do think, ‘Goodness, there’s a lot of shagging’,” says Sewell, who, as Charles, is involved in most of it. “But it’s actually only with one of the characters that you see them in bed together. I mean it’s actually quite boring watching people in bed.”

Hmm. But in the meantime Sewell seems to be getting enough kicks from playing a king. “During rehearsals you’re worrying what makes people kingly,” he says, “and my theory was that what makes you kingly is people doing what you want them to. When we first had lessons in courtly behaviour we did this exercise. When I walked in the room everyone stood up, and moved when I moved, and I remember thinking, ‘Oh, this is nice!’ You’ve got to be careful: 12 weeks of people deferring to you physically — it’s dangerously pleasant at first. But,” he counters, checking himself, “it does get pretty tedious in the end.”

Yeah. Right.
Charles II begins on Sunday, BBC One, 9pm

many thanks to Gillian and Rai!

Teletext website:

TODAY ON THE SITE

http://www.teletext.co.uk/tvplus/generic.asp?slot=325

Sewell: Royal role Sewell's purple patch by Derek Robins Actor Rufus Sewell says he's nothing like the bed-hopping king he plays in BBC1's lavish £4m drama Charles II — The Power & The Passion .While on screen he romps with beauties playing the merry monarch's mistresses, off-screen the 35-year-old is more likely to be bouncing his 19-month-old son Billy on his knee. Rufus, who lives with girlfriend Amy Gardener, says: "I've never been away from him since he was born, which has been lovely."He took his family with him to Prague to film the drama. "It was very child friendly. Billy came for lunch on the set every day," Sewell recalls."I have never wanted to be a father who is away filming for three months and then comes back to find that his son has grown another 12 inches." Thoughts of Hollywood fame were put on hold when he was offered the part.  He'd just bought an apartment in Los Angeles in a bid to further his film career when he got the call. He immediately decamped to Prague where it was filmed and then returned to the Czech city to shoot the movie Tristan & Isolde. He adds: "We sold the house in London to go to LA but now the flat in LA is gathering dust."  Sewell says he found Charles II a fascinating man to play. "Before I played him I had this image of chocolate oranges and Nell Gwynn, spaniels and breasts.   But he was very complex. He was a weak man and a strong man. He was tough and sentimental. He was quite moral and he was a naughty old man.  We've also avoided having spaniels coming out of our ears — there is just the odd one." Sewell defends the raunchy sex scenes in the drama. The opening episode on November 16, which focuses on Charles's time in exile and the restoration of the monarchy after Cromwell's death, features seven bedroom romps, including an oral sex scene featuring Rupert Graves as Charles's pal the Duke of Buckingham and Helen McCrory as the king's mistress Barbara Villiers.  "I think it's boring watching sex for hours. There's more to Charles II than just sex," he insists. As well as Sewell, Rupert Graves and Helen McCrory, Charles II features a well-known cast.  Dame Diana Rigg plays the king's mother Henrietta Maria, The Office's Martin Freeman is Lord Shaftesbury, Ian McDiarmid, of Star Wars, is Sir Edward Hyde and Alice Patten, daughter of ex-Tory chairman Chris Patten, portrays the virginal Lady Frances Stewart.  Sewell says he suffered for his art in the heat of Prague.  "I had to wear a wig which had the texture of a horse's backside but luckily I could take it off now and again as it felt like wearing Brillo. I also had to wear a velvet costume and it weighed a quarter of a ton."  For Charles's death scene he had to shave his head. "He had a stroke and the doctors shaved him and carried out grotesque treatments," he says. Sewell first shot to prominence as Will Ladislaw in the BBC's Middlemarch in 1994 and he then appeared in Cold Comfort Farm.  Since then his star has risen steadily with film Martha, Meet Frank, Daniel And Laurence and the blockbuster movie A Knight's Tale. More recently he's played Agamemnon in the mini-series Helen Of Troy and in the film Tristan & Isolde he plays Lord Marke.

Pick of the day:
16 November 2003

Charles II — The Power And The Passion

Lavish Restoration romp starring Rufus Sewell as the Merry Monarch. Far from being a bodice ripper, this four-parter looks at the man behind the image of womanising, oranges and spaniels. It reveals how he was tormented by the execution of his father Charles I, and often manipulated by women, notably his mother played by Dame Diana Rigg. It's a feast for the eyes and the acting is good, too.

Radio Times
Tuesday, November 11, 2003
And In Today's Lesson

Many of us tend to believe that what we see in historical dramas is based on real events. But is Charles II more fiction than fact?
read the article

BBC Listings - Sunday, November 16
BBC 1
Charles II: The Power And The Passion
Sun 16 Nov, 9:00 pm - 10:00 pm  60mins
The opening episode of this drama sees Charles Stuart restored to the throne after years spent in exile from Republican England. Abandoned by his oldest friend, the Duke of Buckingham, Charles II has reached his lowest ebb when the sudden death of Oliver Cromwell galvanises the Royalist cause. Only one man can unite the nation and prevent a return to Civil War. Charles's triumphant restoration is sealed by another victory; the long anticipated seduction of beautiful Barbara Palmer. With virile Charles spawning a growing hoard of illegitimate children, the need to secure the succession becomes paramount. Confident of her pre-eminence in Charles's affections, Barbara insists on becoming chief among the new Queen's ladies-in-waiting. A surprising show of spirit from mousy Queen Catharine awakens Charles's interest but she cannot hope to match wily Barbara who will stoop to any level to hang on to her power.
Contains explicit sexual scenes and scenes of a violent nature.
Stereo  Widescreen  

Website:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/charles/

BBC 4
Charles II: The Power And The Passion
Sun 16 Nov, 10:00pm - 11:00 pm  60 mins  

Part two of this major new drama starring Rufus Sewell, Helen McCrory, Rupert Graves and Martin Freeman.
A fiery comet in the sky is rumoured to portend doom on Charles's reign. Beset by plague and war, and embroiled in bitter wrangles with Parliament as he battles to keep his Catholic brother James in line to the throne, Charles is forced to sacrifice his trusty minister Sir Edward Hyde.
As the Queen fails to produce a legitimate heir, Charles comes under pressure to divorce and remarry. His roving eye fixes on demure Frances Stewart, but is Charles prepared to jettison loyal Catharine too?
Stereo  Widescreen  

The Telegraph Magazine
25 October 2003

read the article
thanks, Margaret from Ireland!

The Sun Online
Thursday, November 6, 2003

The Loin King

RANDY Charles II gets a firm grip on Lady Castlemaine Barbara Villiers in the BBC’s new    bodice-ripping drama. The saucy royal, played by Rufus Sewell, seduces a string of women in the drama, which starts on BBC1 on November 16.
Barbara Villiers, played by Helen McCrory, had six children after becoming Charles’ lover in 1660. Helen said: “Barbara Villiers has an unabashed hedonism that makes her magnetic. She was described as an uncrowned queen. “Here was a really unusual woman who was a political animal as much as she was a sexual animal. “She was a tough cookie and a clever woman.”
thanks, Rai!!

The Daily Mail Weekend Magazine
October 25, 2003
cover story: A Very Merry Monarch 

His Majesty's Pleasures

The BBC's new 5 million pound bodice-ripper, a drama about the life and loves of Charles II, needed a smouldering star to playa king who seduced the world's most beautiful women.  Step forward Rufus Sewell, the sexiest screen icon since Mr Darcy though,as he tells Lester Middlehurst, he's really a family man at heart.

read the interview plus more pictures
thanks Gillian and Rai!

News from BBC1
BBC1 website with preview clips and screensavers

Charles II - The Power & The Passion press pack is available below in PDF format, as a complete pack or in sections.You may require Adobe Acrobat Software to read PDF files which can be obtained here.
Full Charles II - The Power & The Passion press pack (890 KB)
Cast and crew (41 KB)
Cast interviews (400 KB)
The women of the Court (260 KB)
Additional cast information (97 KB)
Transforming the Czech Republic into 17th-century England
(197 KB)
Synopses (137 KB)
The Mistresses of Charles II & 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Charles II and his Reign (113 KB)
Charles II (1630-1685) (79 KB)
Family tree (60 KB)
Key events 1645-1685 (41 KB)
Accompanying documentaries (98 KB)
thanks, Rai!!

TV's racy romp with Charles II
The Telegraph (UK)
By Tom Leonard, Media Editor
(Filed: 23/10/2003)

Rufus Sewell as Charles II

A £4 million BBC drama about Charles II will portray him as a "modern-style patriarch presiding over an extended, dysfunctional family" and unable to trust anyone, the corporation said yesterday.
Rufus Sewell plays the Stuart king in a four-part serial that will stay true to the BBC's determinationto serve up history with a resonance for a modern audience. Aside from noting that he hid in "all the oak trees he could find . . . and thus very romantic", 1066 And All That had
little to say about Charles II other than that he was "always very merry and was therefore not so much a king as a monarch".
The BBC's take on the monarch is predictably more colourful and will revolve around his torrid private life in a drama it describes as a "dynamic romp - racy, visceral and violent".
Charles II also stars Diana Rigg, as Charles's mother, Henrietta Maria, and Helen McCrory as one of his mistresses, Barbara Villiers. Alice Patten, the youngest daughter of Chris Patten, plays Lady Frances Stuart, a young virgin who escapes Charles's sexual advances.Jane Tranter, the BBC's head of drama commissioning, said the serial would portray Charles as "charming, devious and manipulative by turns" and presiding "over an extended, dysfunctional family like a modern patriarch".
Although the corporation was wary about drawing too clear a parallel with today's Royal Family, the drama's writer, Adrian Hodges, claimed that many of the issues that preoccupied the king "have a disturbingly contemporary resonance".The portrayal "did not sound over-played", said the historian David Starkey."He was an extraordinary man - a master of deviousness, he used wit as an instrument and his sexuality had an almost desperate quality," he said.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/10/23/nchar23.xml&sSheet=/news/2003/10/23/ixhome.html

Tatler
November 2003
www.tatler.co.uk

read the article

The Daily Mail
October 24

BBC1
16 October 2003
http://www.bbc.co.uk/drama/charles.shtml

News on the latest BBC dramas

	Charles II - The Power and The Passion This four-part drama begins in November 2003 on BBC ONE. The Charles II website is live from late October 2003. A dynamic romp through history - racy, visceral and violent – Charles II is set in the corridors and bedrooms of power, when the conflict between monarch and State was at a crossroads. Starring Rufus Sewell as King Charles II, Rupert Graves, Helen McCrory, Martin Freeman, Dame Diana Rigg and Ian McDiarmid. The drama focuses on the court of King Charles II, his squabbling family and his glamorous mistresses – from the high-born and promiscuous Barbara Villiers (Helen McCrory) through folk heroine and sex symbol of the day Nell Gwynne, to French spy Louise de Keroualle (Mélanie Thierry).   From the pen of award-winning screenwriter Adrian Hodges, whose credits include David Copperfield and The Lost World, this ambitious and original take on Charles’s reign penetrates to the heart of the charismatic monarch who was deeply traumatised by the execution of his father. To complement the drama, BBC ONE is also showing two documentaries, The Boy Who Would be King and Oliver Cromwell - Warts and All. The Charles II website is live from late October 2003.

thanks, Gillian and Rai

Variety
October 6, 2003

Saturday fare proves troublesome

By DEBRA JOHNSON

LONDON -- If Blighty's terrestrial players have one thing in common, it's that they're all struggling with he problem of Saturday night.

Top of the flops this year was Chris Evans' Channel 4 gameshow "Boys and Girls," which was relegated to a late-night slot before being canned. ITV's diet of movies, gameshows and comedy failed to lift it out of a summer slump, while the return of "Fame Academy," the BBC's answer to "Pop Idol," didn't deliver for the pubcaster. With viewers switching to pay channels, DVDs and videogames, primetime auds on Saturday nights have dropped to 18.1 million in 2003 compared with 19.3 million in 1995. The BBC is beginning its campaign to have its charter -- and its public funding -- renewed. With this in mind, more public service fare will likely be skedded in primetime.

This quarter sees a slew of history programming in BBC1's $350 million fall sked -- from drama "Charles II," starring Rufus Sewell, Diana Rigg and Rupert Graves, to docs "Pompei: The Last Day" and "Colosseum."

That trend is likely to continue until the Beeb secures future funding in 2006. Whether this will stop the pubcaster from forking out a reported $8 million for U.S. pics like "Harry Potter" and bidding for series like "24" remains to be seen. Commercial web Five is doing a remarkable job of moving away from down-market fare and winning auds with factual fodder. The 6-year-old web may have the smallest budget of the terrestrial players at £157 million ($246 million), but it is attracting two-thirds (6.5%) of the audience achieved by rival Channel 4 (9.7%), which has a budget of $609 million. What's missing from the Five schedule is laffers. Managing editor Jeff Ford says he'll be looking to find the right U.S. show that complements the sked. "Films don't always deliver in the ratings, which is why we've gone down the one-hour U.S. drama route." C4 has desperately tried to draw back auds with shows such as reality series "14 Alone," in which a group of teenage boys and girls are filmed in a house for five days. Chief exec Mark Thompson is driving the broadcaster back to the more thought-provoking fare it launched with in 1982. Dominant commercial broadcaster ITV has a budget of $1.26 billion, a new program director -- Nigel Pickard -- and has reversed the decline, albeit modestly, in primetime. Big dramas this fall include "Henry VIII," starring Ray Winstone and Helena Bonham Carter, and the return after a seven-year hiatus of "Prime Suspect" starring Helen Mirren.
Date in print: Mon., Oct. 6, 2003

The Independent
3 October 2003
Serial Killers:

Whatever happened to the epic TV dramas of old? Simple, says James Morrison, they got squashed. So how do you tell
the story of Henry VIII in just two parts? And can the condensed 'Colditz' ever live up to the 1970s original?

................The Deal lasted 90 minutes, while ER star Alex Kingston's portrayal of the life of England's most celebrated
warrior queen was crammed into a two-hour film. Henry VIII has been given a comparatively generous four hours, over two
episodes, and next month's BBC 1 dramatisation of the life and loves of Charles II, starring Rufus Sewell, has the
same running time, but over four nights...............

the complete story

Radio Times 
September 15, 2003

thanks Gillian and Rai!

First reported by Rupert Graves Online
March 15, 2003

Rupert Graves and Rufus Sewell will begin filming a new BBC drama - Charles II in mid April.
Rufus will play Charles, and Rupert will play Buckingham. More details to follow....

History dominates BBC One line-up Tuesday, 29 July, 2003

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/3106119.stm History programmes are to form the backbone of BBC One's £220m autumn schedule for 2003. The line-up includes two big budget documentaries: Colosseum, about Roman gladiators, and Pompeii - The Last Day, a recreation of the last hours of the doomed city which was smothered by a volcano. "I'm prepared to bet that viewers will come to a schedule that is as rich as this is," said BBC One controller Lorraine Heggessey. The schedule includes historical dramas such as Charles II, starring Rufus Sewell as the king, alongside Dame Diana Rigg and Rupert Graves. The drama is described as a "dynamic romp through history". Ms Heggessey added: "We've become the nation's favourite and I intend to keep it that way." ............................................. thanks Nadine and Rai!!

RUFUS CZECHS OUT CHARLES  -  by Baz Bamigboye  Daily Mail 20 June Rufus Sewell, sporting a curly wig he describes as having the texture of a 'horses's ass', strolls past an Acacia tree and chats with fellow actor David Bradley.  The scene takes in a beautifully clipped yew hedge, an oak tree and beds of roses, catnip, sage and delphinium - a picturesque view of a grand English garden, or so it would seem.  Sewell is portraying Charles II in a 5.5 million pound four-part drama that the BBC is filming in what is supposed to be Oxford, where the king decamped to escape the plague. In fact, we're in Moravia.  The castle of Lednice, to be precise - a three-hour drive from Prague.  The cast, led by Sewell, have been shooting the public, and some very private, aspects of the Monarch's life, on various locations in the Czech Republic. Shirley Henderson plays Charles's long-suffering wife Catherine.  The other women in his life are Helen McCrory as the scheming Lady Castlemain; Emma Pierson as Nell Gwyn; French newcomer Melanie Thierry as Louise de Keroualle; and Alice Patten as Lady Frances Stewart - who spent years spurning his regal advances. Director Joe Wright and producer Kate Harwood realised their budget wouldn't stretch far in the UK - and the hunt for locations would have been hellishly difficult.  But the cast and crew seem to have taken to life in Prague.  There's a sense of camaraderie on the set.  I can't name names, but when the lads spot a comely lass they nudge each other and go, in smoothest Leslie Phillips: 'Tick-tock, who's the new nurse?' Alice Patten - the one who got away - finished her scenes yesterday.  'She just said No!' the actress laughed.  'She ended up as the face of Britannia on coins, even though she didn't give Charles what he wanted.' Sewell was in LA when approached by Wright and Harwood.  'I knew that if I was going to do it, it would depend on what Joe's vision was for the drama and I liked what he said, so I said Yes.' But, until then, Sewell admitted his view of Charles had been a comical one.  'My idea of Charles II was based on those old Cadbury's chocolate Orange adverts, where he goes to the theatre with Nell Gwynn and you have these enormous bazooms with Nell G going: "Have an Orange, Charlie," and that was basically my idea of him.  But that's all changed now,' said Sewell, suitably seriously, lifting his wig and scratching his shaved head underneath. The drama looks at the intrigue behind how Charles regained the throne, and at court gossip and politics of the time.  It will be broadcast on BBC1 in November. Thanks Rai and Gillian!!!!   21 June 03   Daily Mail "Weekend"   24 hours in the life of the BBC - RUFUS GETS THE ROYAL TREATMENT Lester Middlehurst    It is 8AM and already the temperature on the set of the BBC's lavish new costume drama, Charles II, has reached 38 degrees C. Actor Rufus Sewell has just come out of make-up, where he has been for several hours so his handsome features can be aged in readiness for the king's death scene. We are inside a warehouse outside Prague in the Czech Republic, in which a set has been built to represent the Palace of Whitehall. The atmosphere is stifling because of the excessive heat.   Sewell, however, is in good spirits, joking with the cast and crew. Despite the enormity of his role - he appears in virtually every scene of the four part drama to be screened in late autumn - he is clearly relishing the challenge. He and his girlfriend Amy had just moved to Los Angeles with their baby son Billy when he was offered the part of Charles II.   It is expected to do for his career what Pride and Prejudice did for Colin Firth's, yet before he was cast, he had decided to spend six months of the year in America to pursue a film career.   He had just signed a lease on Rock Hudson's former Hollywood home when he had to decamp and return to Europe.  Like most of the team, he is renting an apartment in Prague so his family can be with him and every lunchtime Amy brings Billy to the set, says producer Kate Harwood, "Quite a lot of the cast and crew have young children with them and it's lovely to see them all playing together on the set at lunchtimes. Even though we're working incredibly hard there is a great social scene here.  There are quite a few party animals involved in this production so there have been a lot of late-night parties on the nights before days when we aren't shooting."   Sewell was first choice for the title role of the pounds 4 million epic, but originally turned down the offer because he was committed to a film in the US , but it fell through.   "We were absolutely thrilled to get him," said Harwood.   "Rufus has tremendous presence and natural authority and the camera loves him. He's so charming and people say the Charles was either the most cynical, ruthless king in history or the most charming.  Rufus has the ability to show both sides of the man.   It's a massive part for him but he's doing it with such good humour.    'Charles II is quite racy and bloody,' explains Harwood. 'Charles' private life is a huge part of the story.'  The bedroom scenes promise to be particularly raunchy as much of the script deals with the randy monarch's amorous exploits.  Helen McCrory plays his manipulative promiscuous mistress, Barbara Villiers;  Emma Pierson is Neil Gwynne, and Shirley Henderson is his long-suffering, barren wife.  The cast also includes Diana Rigg as Charles Mother, Henrietta Maria, and Alice Patten, the youngest daughter of former Hong Kong Governor Chris, plays the virginal Lady Frances who manages to escape the Kings sexual advances.   So far there has been only one major technical hitch, explains Kate. "There's an airfield nearby and planes are coming over as we are filming.  We persuaded them to limit their flying lessons to early mornings and during our lunch breaks.  They have been so co-operative.  I can't imagine an English airfield being quite so helpful." Vue2Sewell Thanks, Nadine!!!!    Matt Wells, media correspondent Wednesday July 30, 2003 The Guardian Top of the Pops, the longest-running music show on British television, is facing a make-or-break overhaul as the BBC faces up to the slump in singles sales and the fragmentation of the pop industry. Andi Peters, a former children's television presenter, has been appointed to do a revamp to make it more relevant. The BBC1 controller, Lorraine Heggessey, even suggested yesterday that its long-term future on the channel was not secure. "It's on BBC1 now, but BBC1 has to appeal to all of the people some of the time." She conceded that a move to BBC3 was possible, but added: "For the moment, it will stay on BBC1. The thing is, are the charts as valid as they once were?" Last Friday's edition attracted 2.8m viewers, far fewer than the 4.3m who watched the first edition when it was relaunched in October 2001. The show has suffered from drastic changes in record-buying habits. In the first quarter of this year the sales of singles by number and value fell by 42%, prompting crisis meetings at the trade body, the BPI. By contrast, internet downloading, which is not measured by the charts, is becoming the premier means of consumption for young music fans. The result is that the BBC chart, while accurately measuring the sales of CD singles, does not reflect the trend in music tastes. A sale of 20,000 copies can propel a single to No 1 on a quiet week, and dance acts are disproportionately represented in the lower reaches of the charts because club DJs are big buyers of singles. The BBC is pinning its hopes on Peters, who used to present the links between children's programmes on BBC1, but went behind the scenes to launch Channel 4's successful youth and music strand, T4. Top of the Pops began on New Year's Day 1964 and celebrated its 2,000th edition last year. Chris Cowey, executive producer of Top of the Pops for the past six years, decided to leave the BBC after learning that Peters would be appointed above him. BBC1 announced its £220m autumn season yesterday, including a dramatic reconstruction of the last 24 hours of Pompeii, a modern remake of The Canterbury Tales, and a dramatisation of the life of Charles II starring Rufus Sewell. Heggessey said that history would take "centre stage". She denied at the press conference that "worthy" programmes were pushed to the fore with an eye on the renewal of the BBC's charter, which expires in 2006. Computer-generated imagery features in a number of programmes. Colosseum will seek to recreate the "glamour and bloodshed" of ancient Rome's gladiators while Pompeii - The Last Day recounts the terror visited by Mount Vesuvius on August 24 AD79. Born to Win, dubbed "Sport Idol", will test 20 finalists picked from 5,000 young aspiring athletes who will compete for two sports bursaries - one for each sex. Prunella Scales will present a biography of Queen Victoria which will include dramatic reconstructions of her life, with a supporting cast that includes Timothy West, Charles Dance and Andrew Sachs. The story of Holy Cross school in Northern Ireland is recounted through the eyes of two fictional families on either side of the sectarian divide. In entertainment, the celebrity sports game show Superstars returns. Returning drama includes Judge John Deed, Silent Witness and Waking the Dead; there are new episodes of Absolutely Fabulous and the Jasper Carrott sitcom All About Me, plus a new comedy called The Crouches from the Rab C Nesbitt creator Ian Pattison which features an all-black cast. Paul O'Grady stars in another sitcom, Eyes Down, based on the characters of a fictional bingo hall. thanks, Nadine!   BBC ONE puts history centre stage this autumn Tuesday, 29 July, 2003 http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2003/07_july/29/bbc_one_autumn_2003.shtml BBC ONE launches an ambitious, energetic and confident schedule with history taking centre stage in this £220 million season." Through a range of programming, BBC ONE goes back in time to offer audiences an opportunity to consider new perspectives on historic, social and personal situations. Lorraine Heggessey, Controller of BBC ONE, said: "Opening the door to a wide variety of subjects is key to BBC ONE, and through a range of documentaries and drama we've recreated the world of yesterday for the viewers of today. "Building on our expertise in the area of computer generated imagery we've pushed technology to the limits to recreate the world of ancient Italy while our autumn period drama focuses on Charles II." .......................... A dynamic romp through history, Charles II is set in the corridors and bedrooms of power at a time when the relationship between monarch and state was at crisis point. The series stars Rufus Sewell, Dame Diana Rigg and Rupert Graves. thanks, Rai!!! Variety.com April 17, 2003 A&E revs up for 'King' Telepic surveys life, family, mistresses of Charles II   By DENISE MARTIN Cabler A&E has greenlit production on four-part mini "The Last King." Joe Wright ("Nature Boy") will helm and Kate Harwood ("The Lost World") will produce the telepic, which centers on the life of King Charles II, his squabbling family and his many mistresses. "Charles II was a remarkable man -- witty, intellectually curious and, I understand, downright sexy," said A&E senior VP of programming Robert DeBitetto. Rufus Sewell ("Helen of Troy"), Rupert Graves ("The Forsythe Saga") and Diana Rigg ("Victoria and Albert") are set to star in the project, penned by "The Lost World" scribe Adrian Hodges. Delia Fine and Laura Mackie will exec produce. A&E and BBC co-production began lensing Monday in Prague.   Variety.com April 8, 2003 Sewell rules in BBC1 pic Cast includes Graves, Rigg, Freeman, McDiarmid   By DEBRA JOHNSON LONDON -- Rufus Sewell will play Charles II, who ruled England from 1660-85, in a four-part historical drama for pubcaster flagship channel BBC1. Other original history dramas on the BBC sked are two-parter "James I and the Gunpowder Plot," starring Jimmy McGovern; "The Cambridge Spies," a four-part drama by Peter Moffatt about the recruitment of Burgess, Maclean, Philby and Blunt into Russian intelligence in the 1930s; and a two-part drama by Nick Dear about 19th-century poet Lord Byron for BBC2, with Jonny Lee Miller in the title role. "Charles II" will focus on the king and his court, his squabbling family and his glamorous mistresses, from the high-born and promiscuous Barbara Villiers (Helen McCrory), through folk heroine and sex symbol of the day Nell Gwynne (Emma Pierson). Cast also includes Rupert Graves, Diana Rigg, Martin Freeman and Ian McDiarmid. "Rufus Sewell has tremendous physical energy combined with sensitivity and charisma, which makes him a perfect choice for the title role," said Jane Tranter, controller of drama commissioning at the BBC.   BBC Press Release 07.04.03 TV DRAMA Rufus Sewell is Charles II in a four-part drama for BBC ONE Rufus Sewell, Rupert Graves, Helen McCrory, Martin Freeman and Ian McDiarmid star in a four-part drama serial about the life of King Charles II for BBC ONE, it was announced by BBC Controller of Drama Commissioning, Jane Tranter. The focus of King Charles II is his court, his squabbling family and his glamorous mistresses - from the high-born and promiscuous Barbara Villiers (Helen McCrory), through folk heroine and sex symbol of the day Nell Gwynne (Emma Pierson) to the French spy Louise de Keroualle (Mélanie Thierry). It is an original take on a historical period written by award-winning screenwriter Adrian Hodges, whose credits include David Copperfield and The Lost World, which penetrates to the heart of the charismatic monarch who was deeply traumatised by the execution of his father. "An ambitious and original historical drama for BBC ONE, King Charles II is a dynamic romp through history - racy, visceral and violent - set in the corridors and bedrooms of power, when the conflict between monarch and state was at a crossroads," said Jane Tranter, BBC Controller of Drama Commissioning. "Rufus Sewell has tremendous physical energy combined with sensitivity and charisma which makes him a perfect choice for the title role." Destitute, weary, hopeless: after nearly a decade in exile from Republican England, even Charles II's oldest and dearest friend the Duke of Buckingham (Rupert Graves) abandons him and returns home to make his peace with Cromwell. The witty, vital, sensual monarch is at his lowest ebb when loyal minister Sir Edward Hyde (Ian McDiarmid) brings news of Cromwell's sudden death. The celebrations are short-lived, as England passes peacefully into the hands of Cromwell's son Richard. Never did the prospects of regaining Charles's crown seem so bleak, until canny General Monck persuades Parliament to invite Charles Stuart back to take up his throne. Charles's triumphant ride into London on his thirtieth birthday segues into another victory; the long-anticipated seduction of beautiful, tantalising Barbara Villiers who has been holding out on Charles for several months. With the virile Charles spawning illegitimate children all over the place, the need for a queen and an heir becomes paramount. Barbara is sufficiently confident of her charms not to feel threatened by the arrival of the devout and mousy Catherine from Portugal, the future Queen who, at first proves to be no match for the wily Barbara. The cast also includes: Diana Rigg as Henrietta Maria, Charles's volatile mother; Martin Freeman as Shaftesbury, Charles's political nemesis and former minister; Shirley Henderson as Queen Catherine; Charlie Creed Miles as James, Charles's brother and Alice Patten plays the demur Lady Francis Stewart, the young virgin who manages to escape Charles's sexual advances. Further casting to be announced shortly. Complementing Charles II, BBC ONE will be screening two documentaries on Cromwell and King Charles II. Charles II is one of a number of forthcoming original history dramas following The Lost Prince (BBC ONE) and The Other Boleyn Girl (BBC TWO). These include a two-part drama by Jimmy McGovern about James I and The Gunpowder Plot; The Cambridge Spies (a four-part drama by Peter Moffatt about the recruitment of Burgess, Maclean, Philby and Blunt into Russian intelligence); and a two-part drama about Byron for BBC TWO by Nick Dear with Jonny Lee Miller in the title role. Notes to Editors Filming in Prague from Monday 14 April for 12 weeks, Charles II is due for transmission later this year on BBC ONE. The director is Joe Wright and producer is Kate Harwood.   Charles II   (Mini-series) The Internet Movie Database Credited cast: Rufus Sewell .... King Charles II rest of cast listed alphabetically Charlie Creed-Miles .... Prince James Martin Freeman (II) .... Shaftesbury Rupert Graves .... Duke of Buckingham Shirley Henderson (I) .... Queen Catherine Helen McCrory .... Barbara Villiers Ian McDiarmid .... Sir Edward Hyde Emma Pierson .... Nell Gwynne Diana Rigg .... Henrietta Marie of France Mélanie Thierry   Directed by Joe Wright (IV) Writing credits (in alphabetical order) Adrian Hodges Produced by Delia Fine .... co-executive producer Kate Harwood .... producer Laura Mackie .... co-executive producer Sound Department John Taylor (IX) .... production sound mixer .... Louise de Keroualle Sewell crowned to play Charles II in A&E-BBC mini The Hollywood Reporter Mar. 18, 2003 By Andrew Wallenstein NEW YORK -- Rufus Sewell has been tapped to star in the upcoming original biopic on Charles II, a co-production of A&E and BBC. Scheduled to begin shooting next month in Prague, the four-hour miniseries chronicles the 17th century monarch's turbulent reign, which coincided with the Great Plague and the Great Fire of London. The film also explores his equally stormy personal life, including his succession of mistresses. "This is a complex, rich portrait of a king — not to mention an incredibly sexy one," miniseries executive producer Delia Fine said. "Rufus is just the right actor to play such a fantastic character." Sewell's credits include "Extreme Ops" and "A Knight's Tale." Rupert Graves ("Extreme Ops") will co-star as Lord Buckingham, Charles' nemesis. Expected to air late this year or in early 2004, the miniseries will be directed by Joe Wright (BBC's "Crocodile Snap"). The script was written by Adrian Hodges ("Lorna Doone"). Laura Mackie will executive produce, and Kate Harwood produces for the BBC. The miniseries is the first longform project greenlighted by Bob DeBitetto, A&E's new senior vp original programming. No budget was disclosed, but it will be one of the biggest productions in A&E history, Fine said. Sewell is represented by Victoria Belfrage in London and Endeavor in the United States. Gene Parseghian is his manager. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hollywoodreporter/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1840478 The Daily Mail April 4, 2003 by Baz Bamigboye Melanie Thierry, a French beauty who will be one of Charles II's paramours in a bawdy four-part television drama about the King. Rufus Sewell will romp for England, along with Helen McCrory and many others. Diana Rigg plays Charles's mother.   As producer Kate Harwood told me: 'It's not a history lesson. Rather, we look at the women in his life and try to explain how the execution of his father affected him.'   The epic will be shot in Prague for BBC1. Ms Thierry, a 21-year-old Paris based actress, has appeared in several French language films, but Charles II marks her her international breakthrough.   Producer Harwood and director Joe Wood have assembled a superb cast that also includes Rupert Graves as the Duke of Buckingham, Shirley Henderson as Charles's wife Catherine, Charlie Creed Miles as his brother James and Alice Patten as Lady Frances Stewart, one of the few damsels to escape Charles's sexual clutches. thanks, Rai! PATTEN'S GIRL GETS STAR ROLE