3 x 60 / October 2017
The labyrinthine world of Elizabethan power is laid bare and the Gloriana vision of Queen Elizabeth’s reign is rubbed tout to reveal an England which is politically unstable and religiously divided. A country under siege from foreign enemies and home-grown religious radicals. A Protestant state trying to anchor itself in choppy waters on the edge of a largely Catholic continent.
The Pope declares Queen Elizabeth a heretic and unleashes half a century of plots, armadas and eternal Catholic hopes for regime change. To combat this onslaught Queen Elizabeth looks to a father and son team to keep her safe – they are her spymasters and between them they will establish a secret state with tendrils reaching into Catholic conspiracies at home and abroad. It will keep her safe, secure the state, and darken the souls and bloody the hands of its masters.
WINNER: RTS Award ( Programme Award Winner 2018 – History
NOMINATED: BAFTA (TV Awards 2018 (Specialist Factual)
“An interesting insight into an oft-forgotten part of English royal history” – THE CROWN CHRONICLES
“Fascinating” – RETROSPECT JOURNAL
“Gripping” – DAILY MAIL WEEKEND
“Terrific” – DAILY MAIL
“Absorbing….It’s a story of dark deeds that would make John Le Carre proud” – DAILY MAIL WEEKEND
“Wonderfully dark and gossipy…This absorbing look at the complicated intrigues in and around Elizabeth I’s court is so dramatic it feels like a 16th-century Homeland” – RADIO TIMES
“Gripping” – THE TIMES
“Gripping” – TELEGRAPH