Perilous private passions of young Elizabeth laid bare

A NEW drama about Elizabeth I delves into the secrets of her sex life, one of its top stars has revealed.

British actress Romola Garai plays Mary Tudor in the new drama Becoming Elizabeth, which begins tonight on American streaming giant Starzplay.

It was written by Eastenders and Ackley Bridge screenwriter Anya Reiss.

Romola, 39, revealed: “I think this show is a really appetising mixture of genuine historical fact and excitement, sex and violence.

“You can sit down and watch it if you’re passionately into real history.

“But also, it is very sexy. The fact we enter Elizabeth’s story in this period of her life presents a tremendous mystery – whether or not she had an affair with Thomas Seymour.”

Elizabeth is played by the German actress Alicia von Rittberg, 28, pictured, while Thomas Seymour is played by Welsh actor Tom Cullen, 36.

Although Romola’s character is known as Bloody Mary, she said there was another side to the monarch.

“Mary Tudor was Mary I, so she was Queen directly before Elizabeth.

“She could be really good fun. People often spoke about her being funny and clever but she was forced into this horrific situation where her mother [Catherine of Aragon] was cast out by her father [Henry VIII] when he met Anne Boleyn and was excommunicated.

“She is still known as Bloody Mary because she killed Protestants – she burned people at the stake. But she didn’t burn any more people than Henry, and nobody calls him Bloody Henry.

“She fiercely believed in returning Britain to Catholicism but, interestingly, on her deathbed she was the one who chose Elizabeth as her successor.”

Becoming Elizabeth premieres tonight on Starzplay