French didn’t see fuss over Versailles

IT’S been slammed for its raunchy scenes, but Versailles star Stuart Bowman says the French can’t understand all the sex-scandal fuss.

The BBC2 drama about life in the turbulent early reign of Sun King Louis XIV is now back for a second series.

It has a whole series of steamy encounters but Stuart, 51, was quick to defend the sexy show which has become a worldwide hit.

“Frankly, the French found the kind of coverage about the series in Britain laughable,” says Stuart, who plays the key role of Louis XIV’s confidant Alexandre Bontemps.

“They didn’t pay attention to that at all.”

Versailles is also sold to 135 countries around the world and is a Netflix hit.

With filming for the third series about to start, Stuart has moved across the Channel with partner Candida and their kids Tavish, five, and Sholto, three.

“We now live in Paris and my children are bilingual.

“So it has been an utterly life-changing experience. Tavish is in the third year of a French primary school and Sholto was just five months when we moved, so he’s grown into a wee boy here.

“We might stay here for the next three or four years or maybe forever, who knows.”

But having spent many years living south of the Border, Dundee-born Stuart says a return home isn’t out of the question in the future.

Work, at least, has brought Stuart back home. He played Sergeant Thomson in hit comedy Gary Tank Commander and when, like Still Game, it transferred from TV to a stage show, he was thrilled to take part. “I was on stage at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow in front of 10,000 people,” says Stuart. “It was a joy. I don’t think Versailles could beat the feeling of the first time I walked on and heard that roar of the crowd.”