The official ITV’s Victoria Facebook and Twitter pages just updated their headers with a beautiful new promotional image from the show. The photo has been now added to our gallery, be sure to check it out!

DEADLINE – Victoria will air on PBS’ Masterpiece in the Sunday timeslot Downton Abbey has occupied the last six years, the programming service said this afternoon at TCA. It’s slated to premiere in 2017. Jenna Coleman (Doctor Who) stars as the young Queen Victoria, a neglected teenager who became Queen and eventually the most powerful woman in the world.

“Downton Abbey has proved that millions of viewers will turn up year after year for a beautifully crafted period drama,” Masterpiece exec producer Rebecca Eaton would have told TV critics today at TCA, were she not upstairs in her hotel room with the flu, so PBS put it in writing. “Victoria has it all: a riveting script, brilliant cast, and spectacular locations. And it’s a true story! This is exactly the kind of programming Masterpiece fans will love,” she said in her statement.

Victoria is a co-production with Mammoth Screen, producer of crunchy gravel drama Poldark, and Endeavour, for ITV and is distributed internationally by ITV Studios Global Entertainment. It is created and written by best-selling novelist Daisy Goodwin (The American Heiress) in her screenwriting debut. Goodwin read through 62 million words of Victoria’s diaries to write the story of Victoria’s transformation from teen to Queen.

The eight-part drama follows her from the time she becomes queen in 1837 at the age of 18, through her courtship and marriage to Prince Albert. Famous for her candor and spirit, and for having had nine children, Victoria reigned 63 years, which made her England’s longest-serving monarch, until she got beat out by Elizabeth II in September 2015. (source)

Thanks to Gabby, a couple of Victoria related magazine scans have been added to the gallery. Nothing new – sadly – but always good to see Jenna in costume right? Enjoy them! :)

RADIO TIMES – The eight-part drama will see the Doctor Who actress chart the early life of Queen Victoria, from her accession to the throne at just 18 through to her marriage to Prince Albert.

It has been announced that BAFTA-nominated actor Rufus Sewell (The Man in the High Castle, Parade’s End, The Pillars of the Earth) has joined the cast. Sewell stars as Lord Melbourne, Victoria’s first prime minister.

Last month Coleman confirmed she would be leaving her role as Clara Oswald in Doctor Who, telling Radio 1’s Nick Grimshaw about her new role: “I am about to start work on Queen Victoria. I have four weeks to become a Queen! It’s ITV. I need to learn to ride a horse. I need to learn to waltz, play Beethoven. It’s really fun.”

The drama will also star Peter Firth (Spooks) as the Queen’s conniving uncle the Duke of Cumberland, Eve Myles (Broadchurch) as her senior dresser, and Nell Hudson (Outlander, Call the Midwife) as a mysterious new member of the household..

The series will open with a 90-minute episode, followed by seven one-hour episodes. (source)

RADIO TIMES – Doctor Who companion Jenna Coleman will play Queen Victoria in a new 8-part ITV drama, the commercial broadcaster has this morning confirmed.

Jenna Coleman said: “I am delighted to be cast as Queen Victoria in this ambitious drama of her life. She is a vivid, strong, inspirational and utterly fascinating woman in British history and I can’t wait to tell her story.”

The Doctor Who star will portray the Queen at the age of 18, when she ascended the throne, through to her romance and marriage to Prince Albert.

The drama will be produced by the team behind BBC1’s Poldark and Endeavour (source)