Elizabeth I

As this second episode of the docudrama opens, the 25-year-old Elizabeth I (an arresting Lily Cole) is crowned.

As this second episode of the docudrama opens, the 25-year-old Elizabeth I (an arresting Lily Cole) is crowned

As this second episode of the docudrama opens, the 25-year-old Elizabeth I (an arresting Lily Cole) is crowned.

However, as presenters Dan Jones and Suzannah Lipscomb explain, becoming the Queen of England didn't mean Elizabeth could drop her guard for a minute – enemies abroad, in England and even within her own family meant the young monarch was in constant danger.

In Scotland, the Protestant Elizabeth's ambitious Catholic cousin Mary (a deliciously dark performance from Audrey L’Ebrellec) was angling to be named Elizabeth's heir…

An entertaining and accessible history lesson.