ITV is dipping its toes into the history of the Tudors with a new period drama, created by former Grey's Anatomy showrunners Joan Rater, Tony Phelan and William Harper.

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Titled Majesty, the drama depicts the life of a young Elizabeth I and her place in the court of King Henry VIII.

While not an accurate retelling of the famed queen's life, the series is described as "a bold, intriguing reimagining of her life based upon conspiracy theories which surrounded her as a youth".

The log line for the series continues: "Was the Virgin Queen hiding a profound secret? And how did this overlooked, embattled princess become the most powerful ruler England has ever known?"

William Harper, Joan Rater and Tony Phelan smiling ahead in a selfie.
Showrunners William Harper, Joan Rater and Tony Phelan.

Directed by James Strong, whose most recent work includes Mr Bates vs The Post Office, the six-part series will commence filming in 2025, with casting to be revealed at a future date.

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"Majesty is an emotional, funny, and contemporary-feeling alternate history about how three outsiders try to stay alive while hiding a secret that, if discovered, would rock England to its foundations," said creators Harper, Rater and Phelan.

"Majesty allows us to have fun with history while illuminating who we are now. This show is pure wish-fulfilment of how people devoted to the public good suddenly find themselves in a position to make a difference."

Meanwhile, Strong commented: "I could not be more thrilled to be bringing this audacious and original show to the screen.

"The brilliant scripts are a directors’ dream as we get to reimagine and recreate an iconic piece of English history and tell a period story that looks stunning but also feels modern and relevant to today's viewer."

Majesty will air on ITV1, STV, ITVX and STV Player.

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Authors

Katelyn MensahEntertainment and Factual Writer

Katelyn Mensah is the Entertainment and Factual Writer for Radio Times, covering all major entertainment programmes, reality TV shows and the latest hard-hitting documentaries. She previously worked at The Tab, with a focus on reality TV and showbiz news and has obtained a BA (Hons) in Journalism.

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