Exclusive – Anne Boleyn creator wants a sequel focused on Henry VIII’s fifth wife: “Watch this space”
Anne Boleyn screenwriter Eve Hedderwick Turner says she finds teenage Tudor queen Catherine Howard "really interesting".
The creator of Channel 5 psychological thriller Anne Boleyn says she hopes to pen a follow-up series about another of Henry VIII's six wives: Catherine Howard, who was beheaded like Anne before her.
Speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com, screenwriter Eve Hedderwick Turner also said that she would hope the potential series would feature a diverse cast, similar to three-parter Anne Boleyn, which casts Black actress Jodie Turner-Smith as the titular Queen.
Asked if she would be interested in writing a follow-up series, Hedderwick Turner said, "There are plenty of stories and what is really interesting is he [Henry] was not – well, there's many victims of his of his lifetime. And it's definitely of interest to me. Watch this space!"
She continued, "There are a couple [of Tudor figures] that I find really interesting. I think Catherine Howard, who was the second one to be beheaded, is always a really interesting figure to me because she sort of just becomes number two to have her head chopped off. And it appears to unfold in a similar way [to Anne Boleyn] with accusations of adultery and treason, but she was so, so young.
"You know, there's some grey sort of areas around her [Catherine's] actual real age but she's most likely 17 when she's married to Henry, who's by then around 50, and [she's] 18 when she's murdered. So to me, if I was to lean into telling a story, it feels like quite an interesting opportunity to explore a coming-of-age, sexual exploration story with a really dangerous backdrop."
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Would a series about Catherine Howard replicate the identity-conscious casting choices seen in Anne Boleyn? "I think so. I mean, what I think has been really successful with those casting choices is creating a sort of community on screen that feels fresh and more contemporary," she said.
"I really feel hopeful that we're going to bring new audiences to this piece of history because of that [casting]," she continued, "and it's definitely, I think, the way to go with telling these stories, which often feel like they've been repeated a lot. And if we're going to do them again, they need to have that fresh new take and a new lens through which to tell them."
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Thalissa Teixeira, who stars as Henry VIII's mistress Madge Shelton in the Anne Boleyn cast, recently told RadioTimes.com that the inclusion of Black actors in Anne Boleyn was not an example of colour-blind casting but instead an example of being identity-conscious.
Teixeira stressed that casting Queen & Slim star Jodie Turner-Smith as the ill-fated Anne Boleyn helps highlight how the real-life queen was “othered”.
"I think the casting [of Jodie Turner-Smith] has something to say for that as well. We’re talking about the idea that… she was different from the rest of the people in the court – this kind of othering of her," she said.
Anne Boleyn is set to air on Channel 5 from Tuesday 1st June at 9pm. Want more show content? Check out the Anne Boleyn location guide, or see what else is on with our TV Guide. Visit our Drama hub for all the latest news.
