This Sunday's climax of Victoria will be devastating...
The Victoria finale will see the young Queen, played by Jenna Coleman, and her husband Albert make a huge mistake, says the show's creator, Daisy Goodwin.
Here Daisy tells TV Times about the Victoria finale and whether we'll see Lord Melbourne again
TV Times: Tell us a little about tonight's last episode…
Daisy Goodwin: "It’s very dramatic, there’s so much going on. There’s a cataclysmic political vote that divides the country, and Peel puts his conscience before his career. Victoria and Albert support him, but they make a huge political mistake. There’s also a death and there will be tears. Victoria’s marriage is tested, too. Albert says, ‘There are three of us in this marriage,’ but I won’t say who the third person is!"
TVT: Will Lord Melbourne appear? He was very ill when we last saw him.
DG: "He’s not dead yet! I’m very attached to him, but you may not see him again this time. He might well be at Brocket Hall with his orchids and his mechanical birds…"
Victoria with dashing Melbourne before he became ill
TVT: Have Jenna Coleman (Victoria) and Tom Hughes (Albert) grown into their roles more this time?
DG: "Definitely. Jenna’s done an amazing job showing Victoria’s postnatal depression and Tom’s been great at demonstrating how Albert was rocked by the idea that his father might be his Uncle Leopold. They have shown how their characters are maturing, but how they also have real struggles and an extraordinary physical bond."
TVT: How will you cope if you ever have to write Albert’s death?
DG: "I can’t even think about it. The idea is making me feel quite ill! It’s horrible to kill off a character; it breaks my heart. When I had to kill off [Victoria’s dog] Dash, I was sobbing like everyone else."
TVT: What have you most enjoyed about this second series?
DG: "I’ve loved watching Diana Rigg as the Duchess of Buccleuch, she’s a total scene-stealer, and Martin Compston was wonderful as Dr Robert Traill [a social campaigner during the Irish Potato Famine]. He was my great-great-grandfather and it was interesting to make that topic personal."
Diana Rigg was a "total scene stealer" as the Duchess of Buccleuch
TVT: More babies to come presumably for Victoria?!
DG: "There are lots more babies. I have to be careful not to turn Victoria into Call the Midwife so she occasionally has babies off screen. Jenna does amazing childbirth scenes, but Victoria did have nine and that is a lot – it’s hard to keep track of them all!"
TVT: Would you like to write about an older Victoria eventually?
DG: "I’d love to show Victoria and [her Scottish servant] John Brown in a different way and I can’t wait to show [her Prime Minister] Disraeli, because they had a wonderful relationship. As for casting, I’m so besotted with Jenna that it’s hard to imagine anyone else playing her."
TVT: Finally, is it true you sometimes wear a corset to help you write?!
DG: "Occasionally! I had a bit part in series one and doing that made me realise how physically hard it was to be a Victorian woman. I have worn corsets while writing too because it gives me a sense of the physicality of that time. I’d love to have another cameo but I think my talents are probably behind the camera…"
Victoria is on Sunday evening on ITV at 9.pm.
