THE SERPENT QUEEN, STARZPLAY (VIA AMAZON)

AS THE nation mourns Queen Elizabeth II, this lavish new drama tells the story of another queen who had a huge impact on history — though in a totally different way. Catherine de Medici, the infamous 16th-century Queen of France, earned her serpentine nickname through a predilection for poisoning her rivals, and was the inspiration for the Evil Queen in Snow White; she also popularised high heels and was instrumental in the development of ballet. Her ruthless scheming might have secured her position as the most powerful woman in Europe, but this eightpart series depicts Catherine in a very different light — that of a vulnerable woman, abandoned and abused in childhood, who used every weapon in her armoury to survive at a time when France was riven by civil war. Samantha Morton (pictured) is mesmerising as the sinister queen in a drama that tells her story with a modern spin and a sly humour, with a rock music soundtrack and Fleabag-style winks to the camera. New episodes

follow every Sunday.