Cardiff Castle has been transformed into a film set for a new historial TV series based on Elizabeth I.
Filming for Becoming Elizabeth has been taking place at the castle this week. The show traces the early years of the last Tudor monarch and stars German actress Alicia von Rittberg.
The series, made by US production company Starz, is the latest high-end show to be filmed across in Cardiff in recent weeks.
Entertainment news website Deadline reported that Alicia von Rittberg, who also starred in Second World War film Fury in 2014, has landed the title role in Starz’s series. The eight-episode series will chronicle the early years of Queen Elizabeth I.
British playwright Anya Reiss is executive producer alongside George Ormond and George Faber.
The show will have an all-women writing team, which includes Emily Ballou, Anna Jordan, and Suhayla El- Bushra in addition to Reiss.
Starz chief executive Jeffrey Hirsch said: “The world of Becoming Elizabeth is visceral and dangerous – judgements are rendered quickly and no one is safe.
“This series explores the Tudor reign and young Elizabeth, who would become England’s ‘Gloriana’ and one of history’s most dynamic figures, through a new lens which we think viewers will find highly engaging.”
Images of the filming in Cardiff show a number of film crew members and trucks parked in and around the castle. Several horses were spotted inside the castle grounds, and one scene appeared to involve two people "being hanged" from one of the castle walls inside.
Filming for the show has also taken place in Bristol and Somerset, with pictures from the shooting in Wells showing numerous heads mounted on spikes forming part of the scenes.
It's the latest big-name show to use Cardiff as a backdrop. Earlier in March, parts of the city were transformed into a London street for the upcoming Amazon Prime show Alex Rider. Bollywood has also arrived in the city, with filming taking place for the film Donkey. You can read more on that here.
