COURTING DISASTER
ALEXANDER VLAHOS REVEALS WHY PHILLIPE’S GOING SOLO, AS THE LAVISH PERIOD DRAMA RETURNS…
French history buffs and lovers of elaborate fashion have reason to celebrate this week as BBC2’S Versailles, set in the opulent court of King Louis XIV, begins its third and final run.
As the King celebrates a major military victory with even more ambitious plans for his palace, his brother Philippe returns from war to a hero’s welcome – but acts coldly towards his lover, the Chevalier de Lorraine.
“Philippe puts love aside,” explains Alexander Vlahos, who plays him. “With the Chevalier comes drama, and post-war Philippe is done with drama! In season two, we played every single emotional beat we could possibly play, so I think it’s for the greater good of the show that they have this separation – but they keep coming back to each other. They’re like magnets!”
This series will also incorporate one of the most compelling stories of French history – the prisoner who was held in jail for 34 years, and whose face was never seen.
“We all know the mythology of the man in the iron mask,” says Alex. “But who that person was is left to people’s imagination. In series three, it represents the biggest threat to Louis’ identity yet. Philippe is the one who discovers the man in the iron mask and wants to figure out who it is. By his own intuition, he unravels a family mystery that has been going on for years and years…”