NEW KID ON THE BLOCK
FIRST GLIMPSE OF JODIE TURNER-SMITH AS TV’S ANNE BOLEYN
WE’RE off to a head start... the first look at Jodie Turner-Smith as the ill-fated Anne Boleyn.
Turner-Smith, a black actress born in Britain, has been spotted filming scenes in Yorkshire, wearing a padded jacket over her Tudor finery.
Channel 5 says its upcoming historical drama ‘challenges the conventions of who we think Anne Boleyn was and shines a feminist light on her story’.
The production company,
Fable Pictures, said it was delighted to have ‘the magnetic’ Turner-Smith, 34, on board as Henry VIII’s second wife.
A spokesman added: ‘She encapsulates Anne’s determination to be an equal among men and to pave a path for her daughter [the future Elizabeth I].
‘We feel that history has sidelined the voice of this ambitious queen in favour of the men who brought her down.’
Anne was beheaded for treason at the Tower of London in 1536 and the king married wife No.3, Jane Seymour, the following day.
Turner-Smith, married to The Affair actor Joshua Jackson, garnered rave reviews last year for her big-screen outing in Queen & Slim. Speaking about playing Anne Boleyn, she said the script, by Eve Hedderwick Turner, ‘immediately captured my imagination’.
She added: ‘The legend of this formidable queen and fierce mother will be seen as a deeply human story that is still so relevant for today.’
Channel 5 has not yet revealed the date of broadcast, but said: ‘The drama will explore the final months of Anne Boleyn’s life from the eponymous queen’s perspective.’