The Six Wives of Henry VIII (1970 TV series)

The Six Wives of Henry VIII is a series of six television plays produced by the BBC and first transmitted between 1 January and 5 February 1970. The series later aired in the United States on CBS from 1 August to 5 September 1971 with narration added by Anthony Quayle.<ref name=Directory>Template:Cite book</ref> The series was rebroadcast in the United States without commercials on PBS as part of its Masterpiece Theatre series.

Each of the six plays focuses on a single wife, often from their perspective, and was written by a different dramatist. The series was produced by Mark Shivas and Ronald Travers and directed by Naomi Capon and John Glenister.

Cast

• Keith Michell as Henry VIII<ref name="RadioTimes20Dec1969">Template:Cite journal</ref>
• Wolfe Morris as Thomas Cromwell<ref name="RadioTimes3Jan1970">Template:Cite journal</ref>
• Annette Crosbie as Catherine of Aragon<ref name="RadioTimes20Dec1969"/>
• Dorothy Tutin as Anne Boleyn<ref name="RadioTimes3Jan1970"/>
• Anne Stallybrass as Jane Seymour<ref name="RadioTimes10Jan1970">Template:Cite journal</ref>
• Elvi Hale as Anne of Cleves<ref name="RadioTimes17Jan1970">Template:Cite journal</ref>
• Angela Pleasence as Catherine Howard<ref name="RadioTimes24Jan1970">Template:Cite journal</ref>
• Rosalie Crutchley as Catherine Parr<ref name="RadioTimes31Jan1970">Template:Cite journal</ref>
• Patrick Troughton as the Duke of Norfolk<ref name="RadioTimes20Dec1969"/>
• Bernard Hepton as Archbishop Thomas Cranmer<ref name="RadioTimes3Jan1970"/>
• Sheila Burrell as Lady Rochford<ref name="RadioTimes3Jan1970"/>
• Basil Dignam as Bishop Gardiner<ref name="RadioTimes10Jan1970"/>
• John Woodnutt as Henry VII<ref name="RadioTimes20Dec1969"/>
• Valentine Palmer as Lord Willoughby<ref name="RadioTimes20Dec1969"/>
• Mollie Sugden as Lotte, handmaid to Anne of Cleves<ref name="RadioTimes17Jan1970"/>
• Robert James as Robert Barnes<ref name="RadioTimes17Jan1970"/>
• Catherine Lacey as Dowager Duchess of Norfolk<ref name="RadioTimes24Jan1970"/>
• Howard Goorney as Will Sommers, court fool to Henry VIII<ref name="RadioTimes24Jan1970"/>

Reception

Historian Eric Ives commended the interpretation of writers Rosemary Sisson and Nick McCarty as leading the modern audience to a better understanding of the actions and values of King Henry and Anne Boleyn.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Awards and honours

Year	Award	Category	Recipient(s)	Result
1970	Prix Italia	Original Dramatic Program	Jane Seymour	Template:Won
1971	BAFTA Awards	Best Actor	Keith Michell	Template:Won
		Best Actress	Annette Crosbie	Template:Won
		Best Production Design	Peter Seddon	Template:Won
		Best Costume Design	John Bloomfield	Template:Won
		Special Award	Ronald Travers Mark Shivas	Template:Won
		Best Drama Production		Template:Nom
		Best Drama Production (Single Program)	John Glenister (Catherine of Aragorn)	Template:Nom
		Best Actress	Dorothy Tutin	Template:Nom
1972	24th Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Single Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role	Keith Michell	Template:Won
		Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Dramatic Series		Template:Nom
		Outstanding Drama Series	Ronald Travers Mark Shivas	Template:Nom
		Outstanding New Series		Template:Nom
		Outstanding Single Program, Drama or Comedy		Template:Nom

Legacy

The series spawned a sequel, Elizabeth R (1971), starring Glenda Jackson, which included several performers reprising their roles in the first episode: Ronane, Hepton, Dignam and Crutchley.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> A prequel, The Shadow of the Tower (1972), starring James Maxwell and Norma West as Henry's parents, Henry VII and Elizabeth of York.

Jane Seymour writer Ian Thorne adapted the series into the film Henry VIII and His Six Wives (1972). Michell reprises his role, with the wives being portrayed by Frances Cuka, Charlotte Rampling, Jane Asher, Jenny Bos, Lynne Frederick and Barbara Leigh-Hunt. Cromwell is played by Donald Pleasence, and the Dukes of Norfolk and Suffolk by Michael Gough and Brian Blessed.

See also

• Wives of Henry VIII
• Cultural depictions of Henry VIII
• Cultural depictions of Anne Boleyn

External links

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