Channel 5 to take on rivals with primetime Boleyn thriller

CHANNEL 5 is taking on the BBC and ITV with a new period drama charting the downfall of Anne Boleyn.

New commissions by the broadcaster have been snatching primetime fare from the more traditional producers of hit series with its recent reboot of All Creatures Great and Small proving popular after it was turned down by the BBC due to its lack of appeal for younger viewers.

Channel 5 is set to improve its weekend pedigree yet further with the acquisition of the three-part psychological thriller, Anne Boleyn, starring Jodie Turner-smith in the role of the ill-fated queen of Henry VIII.

Ben Frow, from Channel 5’s parent company Viacomcbs, said: “We know she’s a proven success as a subject with factual and film audiences.

“It was simply too irresistible to say no to and I’m very excited to see the finished product.”

The period drama charts the final months of the queen’s life from her own perspective. The programme also “shines a feminist light on her story”, according to producers.

After clinching All Creatures Great and Small Mr Frow said he enjoyed it when the channel can “score against the competition”.

The series was once must-watch viewing on the BBC when it aired over 12 years – from 1978 to 1990.

The Channel 5 show’s producer said the corporation “had concerns about whether it would speak to a younger audience and, I think, whether or not the show could emerge from the shadow of the first series”.

But the comforting watch based on the work of a Yorkshire vet has “struck a chord”, says Channel 5.