BBC to screen lavish Tudor drama

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The "lavish" series, which has already been a ratings-winner in the US, will centre on the early life of Henry VIII and his close coterie of advisers, minions and lovers.

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The Tudors: The BBC will screen a lavish ten-part drama about the life of Henry VIII. The series features actors Jonathan Rhys Meyer, left, and Natalie Dormer, who plays Anne Boleyn

It focuses on the rampant life of Henry VIII during his late 20s and early 30s when he was still married to the first of his six wives, Catherine of Aragon, played by Irish actress Maria Doyle Kennedy.

He was also pursuing Anne Boleyn, who would become his second wife before getting executed, and other pretty faces that caught his wandering eye.

Boleyn is played in the series, to be broadcast this autumn on BBC2, by English star Natalie Dormer.

The Tudors has been written by Michael Hirst, who also penned Elizabeth, the acclaimed film starring Cate Blanchett.

Shot on location in Ireland, it features Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Henry VIII and Gosford Park actor Jeremy Northam as Sir Thomas More.

Peter O'Toole's daughter Kate O'Toole plays Lady Salisbury.

BBC programme acquisition head of series Sue Deeks said: The Tudors is a lavish, highly entertaining and addictive historical drama which takes a fresh look at Henry VIII.

"Jonathan Rhys Meyers's sexy and vital monarch completely dispels the image of the older, overweight and infirm ruler.

"I know that BBC viewers will really enjoy this contemporary take on the Tudor dynasty."

The series has been co-produced by Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner from Working Title, famous for the likes of Bridget Jones's Diary and Love Actually.