Timothy Spall and Dame Harriet Walter among new cast for final Wolf Hall series
Spall plays the uncle to Henry VIII’s wives Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard.
Timothy Spall and Dame Harriet Walter are among the actors joining the cast for the final Wolf Hall series.
Wolf Hall: The Mirror And The Light tells the story of politician and diplomat Thomas Cromwell’s (Sir Mark Rylance) final four years of life during the reign of Henry VIII.
The original series aired in 2015, and was based on Dame Hilary Mantel’s 2009 Booker Prize-winning novel Wolf Hall and its sequel Bring Up The Bodies.
Based on the third book in the historical trilogy, The Mirror And The Light, the upcoming BBC One series continues to chart Cromwell as an influential figure during the Tudor period.
Succession star Dame Harriet will play Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury, one of the last surviving members of the House of Plantagenet, while Mr. Turner star Spall takes on the role of the influential Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk.
The duke, who had been played by The Lord Of The Rings film series star Bernard Hill, had been an uncle to both of Henry’s (Damian Lewis) wives Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard.
The Singing Detective star Janet Henfrey previously played Lady Margaret.
The new series, which opens in May 1536, also sees The Crown star Alex Jennings, The Undeclared War actress Maisie Richardson-Sellers, Lydia Leonard, Gigi & Nate star Charlie Rowe and Harry Potter film series actor Harry Melling among the cast.
Gentleman Jack star Leonard replaces Call The Midwife actor Jessica Raine as lady-in-waiting Jane Boleyn, Viscountess Rochford and Jennings takes over as prominent Catholic bishop Stephen Gardiner from Mark Gatiss.
When She Was Good actress Summer Richards plays Catherine, and Love Addicts actress Dana Herfurth takes on the role of another of Henry’s wives, Anne of Cleves.
The BBC already announced that Oscar nominee Sir Jonathan Pryce will reprise his role as Cardinal Wolsey, Kate Phillips will return as Jane Seymour and Lilit Lesser will reprise her role as Princess Mary.
Announced on Monday as returning for the six-part show is The Maze Runner star Thomas Brodie-Sangster as Rafe Sadler and The Undeclared War actor Joss Porter as Richard Cromwell.
Director Peter Kosminsky, who saw the drama series win a Bafta in 2016, said: “Casting director Robert Sterne has done a truly extraordinary job assembling the most stunning cast with which I’ve ever had the privilege to work.
“Led by Mark Rylance and Damian Lewis, they’ve been drawn by the quality of Hilary Mantel’s writing and Peter Straughan’s adroit adaptation.
“Shooting in Tudor locations all over England and Wales, it is our privilege to bring Hilary’s last novel to an international television audience.”
The show is adapted by Academy award nominee Peter Straughan, who worked on Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy which won Sir Mark an Oscar, and produced by Sir Colin Callender’s Playground Entertainment and Company Pictures.
Sir Colin, chief executive of Playground, said: “Peter Kosminsky and our brilliant casting director Robert Sterne and his team have brought together a glorious cast with many of the original cast returning alongside some very exciting new faces.”
Wolf Hall: The Mirror And The Light will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the UK with more details to be released in the future.
