First look at ITV's new adaptation of Vanity Fair
Olivia Cooke, star of Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One, plays heroine Becky Sharp in the new adaptation
Vanity Fair, William Makepeace Thackeray’s 1848 novel of love and intrigue during the Napoleonic Wars and centring on the fortunes of the bright and inscrutable Becky Sharp, has captivated generations of readers — and TV viewers.
Acclaimed BBC adaptations in 1987 and 1998 (among others) have not, however, quenched the appetite of ITV, which is showcasing a new version with Becky played by Oldham-born actress Olivia Cooke (above), star of Steven Spielberg’s recent blockbuster Ready Player One.
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Made by the production company behind Poldark and Victoria, the seven-part drama was shot in Budapest and London — and, here on location in Deal, Kent.
Tom Bateman stars as the empty-headed cavalry officer Captain Rawdon Crawley and Charlie Rowe takes on the part of luckless soldier George Osborne.
Doctor Foster’s Suranne Jones is swapping a stethoscope for a bonnet as snobbish, name-dropping society lady Miss Pinkerton, while Michael Palin plays the part of Thackeray himself, narrating the action.
