Move over Mr Darcy, there’s a Fair bit of competition
Tom is new TV hunk
LOOKS like Mr Darcy’s days as top TV hunk are numbered – thanks to Jekyll and Hyde star Tom Bateman.
The strapping 29-year-old plays dim Rawdon Crawley in ITV’s £10million adaptation of Vanity Fair.
And fans missing smouldering Colin Firth’s display as Darcy in BBC’s 1995 Pride & Prejudice will welcome his arrival.
There are obvious similarities between the pair, such as dark tousled hair, sideburns and toned frames. And Crawley is also far from perfect. But, unlike Darcy, he is not so bright. Luckily, Vanity’s heroine Becky Sharp (Olivia Cooke) is happy to overlook this because, as the sole benefactor of his rich aunt’s will, the army captain is also extremely wealthy.
Tom said of the show: “I love the love story, that’s the reason why I really wanted to do it. I remember talking to my mum about it and she said, ‘Oh, you’re playing the stupid one.’ I said, ‘I don’t think that’s fair, I think he’s blinded by this love for Becky.’”
Olivia added: “I think she really fancies him but I think Becky has a tendency to see how someone can benefit her until they no longer can and something shinier comes along. But I do think she sees Rawdon and thinks what a great team they could make … in her scheming way.”
The Napoleonic Wars drama was filmed in Budapest and at Osterley Park, West London. It starts on ITV in September.