Will Victoria return for season 4? Latest news
Victoria fans are still waiting to hear about the show's future - and whether Jenna Coleman will be recast.
While fans of ITV period drama Victoria are still holding out hope for a long-anticipated fourth season, it seems like the series has been temporarily shelved (for now, at least).
The broadcaster recently confirmed that there are currently “no plans” for a fourth series – but added that there's no reason why there couldn't be "at a later date".
“There are no plans presently to film Victoria, but that’s not to say we won’t revisit the series with the production team at a later date,” said ITV in July 2021.
Viewers' hopes for an imminent fourth season were previously renewed when series star Jenna Coleman (The Serpent) revealed at the start of 2021 that she was in talks for Victoria season four – before hinting that there could be many more seasons to come.
“Effectively I could play this part until I am well into my sixties," the 34-year-old said, although she admitted that the series might reach a point where recasting an older actress might be more viable.
“Obviously, at the moment, there is only a certain age that I could take it up to – unless I am in prosthetics every day for hours on end," she told the Mirror in January 2021.
Could this mean that talks for season four could get underway in the next year or so?
Read on for everything we know so far about the potential fourth season of ITV's Victoria.
Will Victoria return for season 4?
As of July 2021, ITV have confirmed there are "no plans" for Victoria to return, at least for the time being.
Back in May 2019, series star Jenna Coleman confirmed that the series would “take a break” following the season three cliffhanger ending.
However, in August 2020, the star confirmed that she was open to reprising her role, adding, “I’m waiting until I age a bit more. There’s too much of a good story [not to make any more series].”
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When could we get Victoria season 4?
A fourth season of Victoria was previously confirmed by creator Daisy Goodwin, but we still don’t know when we can expect the drama to land on the small screen. We'll let you know as soon as we have any updates.
What would the plot be for Victoria season 4?
The door for another series of Victoria has been left wide open, seeing as series three ended with (spoiler alert!) Prince Albert's dramatic collapse to the floor of Buckingham Palace.
Desperately, Queen Victoria cried out his name again and again – but there was no answer.
But unless writer Daisy Goodwin is seriously deviating from real-life history, Prince Albert will survive this alarming health scare. By the end of series three we had reached the year 1851 and the Great Exhibition, so he has another ten years to live before his death in 1861.
The years after 1851 saw the birth of Queen Victoria's final two children, Prince Leopold and Princess Beatrice. They also saw the rise of Lord Palmerston to become Prime Minister, and the outbreak of the Crimean War.
That said, Coleman's comments do indicate that Victoria may skip forward in time. There is also the looming possibility that both Coleman and Tom Hughes (Prince Albert) will abdicate their roles and hand on the characters to older actors...
Will Jenna Coleman be re-cast?
“I’ve currently got seven children in the show, so there’s definitely a point where it becomes not realistic anymore," Coleman told Graham Norton. "I’ve just caught up with her age and my age.”
The actress had previously considered the question, saying: "There’s going to come a point where I have to [to be recast]. The idea I’ll be playing Victoria meeting Abdul is not really possible.
“But it’s going to be a hard thing to give over, especially as she gets older. She’s becoming much more like everything that she’s kind of known for – her impatience and straightness and inability to hide how she feels.
“[Recasting] brings a lot of challenges and it’s hard as an actor – when you’ve taken it so far it’s hard to give it up.”
Writer Daisy Goodwin has told RadioTimes.com that she already knows what she would like to cover in series four, adding that she would not change Coleman and co-star Tom Hughes in the Victoria cast just yet.
“I know where the series is going, it’s all there,” she said. “I think series four is going to be amazing. At some point we will have to recast, but hopefully not yet.”
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