# The Virgin Queen (TV serial)
**The Virgin Queen** is a four-part British television drama serial about Elizabeth I of England, written by Paula Milne, directed by [Coky Giedroyc](https://www.edgepedia.org/coky-giedroyc), and starring [Anne-Marie Duff](https://www.edgepedia.org/anne-marie-duff) as the queen from her teenage years to her death at 70. It was produced by Power Television jointly with the BBC and broadcast on BBC1 beginning 22 January 2006, with a United States run on PBS's *Masterpiece Theatre*.[1](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/shameless-star-is-cast-against-type-to-play-virgin-queen-484870.html) • [2](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/elizabeth-i-the-demanding-royal-role-that-can-make-or-break-an-actor-6111928.html) • [3](https://www.flickfilosopher.com/2006/02/elizabeth-i-the-virgin-queen-review.html)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Format | Four episodes of about 60 minutes each, covering Elizabeth's life from imprisonment under Mary I to her death[4](https://www.allocine.fr/series/ficheserie_gen_cserie%3D7105.html) • [1](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/shameless-star-is-cast-against-type-to-play-virgin-queen-484870.html) • [16](https://era.org.uk/streaming-service-resource/the-virgin-queen/) • [17](https://www.tvsa.co.za/shows/viewshow.aspx?showid=1072) |
| First broadcast | BBC1, from 22 January 2006; PBS *Masterpiece Theatre* in the United States[2](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/elizabeth-i-the-demanding-royal-role-that-can-make-or-break-an-actor-6111928.html) • [3](https://www.flickfilosopher.com/2006/02/elizabeth-i-the-virgin-queen-review.html) |
| Lead cast | Anne-Marie Duff as Elizabeth I, Tom Hardy as Robert Dudley, Hans Matheson as the Earl of Essex[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0481459/fullcredits) |
| Supporting cast | Ian Hart as William Cecil, Joanne Whalley as Mary I, Sienna Guillory as Lettice Knollys, Emilia Fox as Amy Robsart, Tara Fitzgerald as Kat Ashley[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0481459/fullcredits) • [6](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-nov-12-et-virgin12-story.html) |
| Writing and direction | Written by Paula Milne (*The Politician's Wife*); directed by Coky Giedroyc[1](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/shameless-star-is-cast-against-type-to-play-virgin-queen-484870.html) • [6](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-nov-12-et-virgin12-story.html) |
| Costume design | Amy Roberts, who used costume color to represent the passage of time[7](https://thevirginqueen.pbworks.com/w/page/22168695/Aesthetics) |
| Historical scope | Covers essentially the same sequence of events as the BBC's 1971 serial *Elizabeth R* in about half the running time[8](https://unitesi.unive.it/retrieve/e4f5cfea-14be-47c1-b8f9-46debdc86440/816726-1184554.pdf) |
## Production and casting
The serial followed a lengthy casting process in which the Hollywood actress [Claire Danes](https://www.edgepedia.org/claire-danes) was also considered for the part of Elizabeth. Anne-Marie Duff, then known for playing Fiona in [Paul Abbott](https://www.edgepedia.org/paul-abbott)'s drama *Shameless*, was chosen to play the queen from her teenage years through to her death at 70.[1](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/shameless-star-is-cast-against-type-to-play-virgin-queen-484870.html) Duff said she knew virtually nothing about the reign of [Elizabeth I](https://www.edgepedia.org/elizabeth-i) before taking the role, having grown up in an Irish family educated outside the traditional English history syllabus; for research she read books on the period by David Starkey and Elizabeth Jenkins.[2](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/elizabeth-i-the-demanding-royal-role-that-can-make-or-break-an-actor-6111928.html) • [9](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2006/oct/14/2)
**Physical transformation.** The role demanded unusual sacrifices of vanity: the 35-year-old Duff had the front of her head shaved, her eyelashes bleached, and her face painted for the older Elizabeth, with a small comb-over to cover the shaved area between takes. She described the role as terrifying, comparing it to playing a classical part such as Shakespeare or Ibsen.[9](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2006/oct/14/2) • [2](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/elizabeth-i-the-demanding-royal-role-that-can-make-or-break-an-actor-6111928.html)
The production arrived in a crowded field. It premiered the same year as *Elizabeth I*, a two-part drama starring [Helen Mirren](https://www.edgepedia.org/helen-mirren) produced by HBO with [Channel 4](https://www.edgepedia.org/channel-4) and a bigger budget than the BBC's serial.[10](https://frockflicks.com/tbt-the-virgin-queen-2005/) The *Guardian* reported that the BBC's version was rushed into comparison with the Channel 4 drama, which some executives there believed had been commissioned once word of the BBC's plans spread.[11](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2006/jan/12/broadcasting.bbc1)
## Story and structure
The serial opens with Elizabeth as a teenager whose life is threatened by her Catholic half-sister [Mary I](https://www.edgepedia.org/mary-i), imprisoned in the [Tower of London](https://www.edgepedia.org/tower-of-london). It then follows her accession, her long relationship with Robert Dudley, her triumph over the [Spanish Armada](https://www.edgepedia.org/spanish-armada), and her final years and death, ending with her enigmatic relationship with the young Earl of Essex.[2](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/elizabeth-i-the-demanding-royal-role-that-can-make-or-break-an-actor-6111928.html) • [12](https://tv.apple.com/ca/show/the-virgin-queen/umc.cmc.3vhlvgmu107i5pew7zzn9cmzf) Belying her historical moniker, the youthful queen is shown in sex scenes with Dudley, and the concluding episodes show her as a bitter and jealous lover and finally as an old woman.[2](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/elizabeth-i-the-demanding-royal-role-that-can-make-or-break-an-actor-6111928.html)
The Amy Robsart case, the mysterious death of Dudley's wife, was dramatized in the second episode, with [Emilia Fox](https://www.edgepedia.org/emilia-fox) playing Amy Robsart.[13](https://www.tudorsociety.com/wp-content/plugins/s2member-files/magazines/Tudor_Life_March_2022_l.pdf) Some episodes take dramatic liberties: the serial has Elizabeth meet [Mary, Queen of Scots](https://www.edgepedia.org/mary-queen-of-scots) in person in a clandestine visit, narrowly escape assassination by a knife-wielding Catholic, and be present at Robert Dudley's deathbed, none of which is established history.[14](https://carlanayland.blogspot.com/2006/01/virgin-queen-tv-review.html)
## Style
The serial's style was deliberately contemporary. The *Guardian*'s first review described the opening as frenetic, menacing, and beautifully filmed, with hand-held camerawork and electric guitars in a vibrant score.[11](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2006/jan/12/broadcasting.bbc1) A scholarly comparison notes its mix of a relatively young cast, modernized dialogue with contemporary references, elaborate visual effects, and an upbeat soundtrack blending modern and Elizabethan music as giving the familiar story a new freshness.[8](https://unitesi.unive.it/retrieve/e4f5cfea-14be-47c1-b8f9-46debdc86440/816726-1184554.pdf)
**Costumes.** Amy Roberts designed the costumes and manipulated their colors to represent time passing across Elizabeth's life.[7](https://thevirginqueen.pbworks.com/w/page/22168695/Aesthetics) The costume budget was modest by comparison with the HBO production; reviewers noted pared-down, streamlined silhouettes based on correct period shapes, along with visible re-wearing of costumes and even a wired ruff recycled from the film *Orlando*.[10](https://frockflicks.com/tbt-the-virgin-queen-2005/) • [15](https://frockflicks.com/queen-elizabeth-i-in-movies-tv/) The *Los Angeles Times* judged that the money had gone to the right place, giving the film the look of Hans Holbein's court portraits come to life.[6](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-nov-12-et-virgin12-story.html)
## Reception
Critics singled out Duff's performance. The *Guardian* called her portrayal human and believable, and contrasted the BBC's broader time frame with Channel 4's more schematic drama, which had shown the queen only in adulthood.[11](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2006/jan/12/broadcasting.bbc1) The *Los Angeles Times* found the serial diverting educational fun, mostly true to the encyclopedia but not at all dry, and praised Duff's energy and focus even where the production overreached.[6](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-nov-12-et-virgin12-story.html) A retrospective assessment holds that Duff's performance launched her into the world of film.[8](https://unitesi.unive.it/retrieve/e4f5cfea-14be-47c1-b8f9-46debdc86440/816726-1184554.pdf)
The serial's place among screen Elizabeths is as a full-life treatment in the tradition of the BBC's 1971 *Elizabeth R* with [Glenda Jackson](https://www.edgepedia.org/glenda-jackson), presenting the same sequence of events in less than four hours, with less politics and more of the queen's love life than either *Elizabeth R* or the Mirren serial.[8](https://unitesi.unive.it/retrieve/e4f5cfea-14be-47c1-b8f9-46debdc86440/816726-1184554.pdf) • [15](https://frockflicks.com/queen-elizabeth-i-in-movies-tv/) On historical accuracy, one costume-drama survey ranks it above the [Cate Blanchett](https://www.edgepedia.org/cate-blanchett) films, finding minor omissions but no great deviations in the plot.[15](https://frockflicks.com/queen-elizabeth-i-in-movies-tv/)
## References
1. [Ciar Byrne, "'Shameless' star is cast against type to play Virgin Queen", The Independent, 12 April 2005](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/shameless-star-is-cast-against-type-to-play-virgin-queen-484870.html)
2. [Ciar Byrne, "Elizabeth I, the demanding royal role that can make or break an actor", The Independent, 13 January 2006](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/elizabeth-i-the-demanding-royal-role-that-can-make-or-break-an-actor-6111928.html)
3. [MaryAnn Johanson, "Elizabeth I: The Virgin Queen (review)", FlickFilosopher, 7 February 2006](https://www.flickfilosopher.com/2006/02/elizabeth-i-the-virgin-queen-review.html)
4. [The Virgin Queen, AlloCiné](https://www.allocine.fr/series/ficheserie_gen_cserie%3D7105.html)
5. [The Virgin Queen (2005–2006), full cast and crew, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0481459/fullcredits)
6. [Robert Lloyd, "Elizabeth I depicted in all her singular, regal style", Los Angeles Times, 12 November 2005](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-nov-12-et-virgin12-story.html)
7. [The Virgin Queen (With Anne-Marie Duff) / Aesthetics](https://thevirginqueen.pbworks.com/w/page/22168695/Aesthetics)
8. [Carlotta, thesis on screen portrayals of Elizabeth I, Università Ca' Foscari Venezia](https://unitesi.unive.it/retrieve/e4f5cfea-14be-47c1-b8f9-46debdc86440/816726-1184554.pdf)
9. [Emma Brockes, "'You have to be brave'", The Guardian, 14 October 2006](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2006/oct/14/2)
10. [Trystan L. Bass, "TBT: The Virgin Queen (2005)", Frock Flicks, 20 November 2025](https://frockflicks.com/tbt-the-virgin-queen-2005/)
11. [Ben Dowell, "BBC's Elizabeth reigns supreme", The Guardian, 12 January 2006](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2006/jan/12/broadcasting.bbc1)
12. [The Virgin Queen, Apple TV](https://tv.apple.com/ca/show/the-virgin-queen/umc.cmc.3vhlvgmu107i5pew7zzn9cmzf)
13. [Tudor Life Magazine, March 2022, The Tudor Society](https://www.tudorsociety.com/wp-content/plugins/s2member-files/magazines/Tudor_Life_March_2022_l.pdf)
14. [Carla Nayland, "The Virgin Queen. TV review", Carla Nayland Historical Fiction, 28 January 2006](https://carlanayland.blogspot.com/2006/01/virgin-queen-tv-review.html)
15. [Queen Elizabeth I in Movies & TV, Frock Flicks](https://frockflicks.com/queen-elizabeth-i-in-movies-tv/)
16. [Episode 1, The Virgin Queen - Educational Recording Agency](https://era.org.uk/streaming-service-resource/the-virgin-queen/)
17. [The Virgin Queen, TVSA](https://www.tvsa.co.za/shows/viewshow.aspx?showid=1072)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Scripted television and comedy series › Genre and subject-scripted series › Period, historical, and costume drama series › Early modern and 19th-century costume drama*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license