Wolf Hall

The two seasons of this series are very well made and well acted. This show should be great for fans of the Tudor period but if that doesn't interest you, or you've seen too much on that narrow topic, then maybe not.

Just one thing bothered me. They really need to stop casting black actors in historical dramas where no black people would have appeared. Okay, maybe darker skinned members of the Spanish legation but not members of Henry's court. I don't think they realize that it gives the appearance of grating racism when they cast black people in minor roles but of course never in a major role.

In Shakespeare, okay. But this is hardly Shakespeare. Bridgerton is okay too. That's a fantasy. If you are going for historical realism and not one of those fantasy shows aimed at teenagers who hate history, then stick with history.

Why put all that effort into getting the costumes right if you're going to get the actors wrong? I usually don't complain about DEI like you-know-who but this is a case where I have to object.

If the BBC needs to meet some quota for non-white actors, then choose stories that naturally lend themselves to non-white characters. If it has to be some aspect of British history, then the colonial period is a possibility.

Maybe the BBC doesn't have the budget for overseas location shooting anymore? I've heard they had budget problems for the second season of this show. Maybe that explains why there was so many padding scenes of people walking through courtyards and gardens.

In summary, it's worth watching but I think I've met my lifetime quota for Tudors now. Move on to something else.

This wonderful drama just held me spellbound from the opening sequence to the closing shots of the first episode. Mark Rylance was just mesmerising, from the moment he appeared he held me in thrall. The atmospheric lighting, the scenery, the period clothing, all a wonder, but the acting! It was a genuine privilege to see something that will be talked about for years to come. I felt I was there, in the dark recessed corridors of power, with betrayal lurking around every dark corner. Thomas Cromwell is such a fixture in our national DNA it was almost scary to see him bought to life, but he, along with Henry, laid the foundations for a Britain that was sure of its own identity and purpose. I know I will view this for many years and never tire of the many nuances and shadows. Wonderful, simply simply wonderful.

Having now viewed the entire series, all I can say is that it is a masterpiece. I felt drawn in to the dark intrigue around the investigation of Anne Boleyn, and her execution scene was without doubt one of the most realistic and best acted scenes I have ever seen. The BBC, so often getting it wrong with their own brand of political correctness, got this bang on the money. I just wish I could award it more stars.

For anyone who wants to watch a fabulously acted and brilliant drama, this is it.

I felt it right to update this having now read the books Wolf Hall and Bring up the Bodies. This is a superlative adaptation of the books and I would recommend reading them as it really enhances the enjoyment of the drama production.

Before we watched the programme, I read a review which complained about the darkness of the screen. We turned all the lights out and were totally enthralled. Mr Starkey has blown his bombast again, not having read or seen the programme. This is television, and great television at that. There might not be documentary evidence that Cromwell was sad at the death of his wife and children, but it stands to reason that he might well have been! The programme is like a series of old master paintings, the people inhabiting these settings totally realistic and believable. Mark Rylance's portrayal of Cromwell is human, kind and unpretentious: an absolute tour de force. Minimalist, lacking bombast (unlike Mr Starkey!) and memorable. I love the whole thing.

I don't like giving ratings of 10 out of 10 because it implies that it can't be improved, which is never the case, but when I see drama as well written and well performed as this I want to see ratings that reflect that and respect it, and my 10/10 aims to redress some of the, in my opinion, ludicrous ratings of 1/10 that I see have been posted here. First the imperfections: I'm not sure why Peter Kosminsky, whose work I very much rate, has gone for hand held camera work in what is essentially a static shot. I have no problem with hand-held camera work per se, but the reasons for its use in a wide shot are lost on me, and the result is a slightly irritating amount of camera shake. Secondly, the time shifts could be a little clearer - blink and you miss the captions, and that's if they've actually been included. I think on one occasion the shift was implied rather than signalled. I suppose it does keep the audience on their toes.

But now to its huge strengths. First and foremost, the acting. I've been lucky enough to see Mark Rylance on stage and on television many times over the years and I think he's a force of nature, with everything he turns his hand to innovative and mesmerising, whilst at the same time containing the actor's essential ingredient - truth. That there is always something going on in his head is evident, but what is all the more intriguing is that we can't quite tell what it is . . . The rest of the cast are brilliant too, and the brief scene between Damien Lewis as Henry VIII and Cromwell was a mini delight and leaves me drooling in anticipation of future encounters between these two.

The costumes and locations are as impressive as ever with BBC productions, and will no doubt gather in numerous awards (although one bit of what I imagine was a CGI rendering of a Tudor village in the background didn't quite get there). There have been criticisms about the darkness of the lighting, a result of Kosminsky using lighting by candles (albeit with special cameras). I watched it in HD in a darkened room and I can't say it caused me any problems at all, and in fact I commented on how light and airy some of the daytime scenes were, showing life in the day in the same light - literally - as it would be today, as opposed to the generalised gloom in some depictions of the period.

I thought the pace was well-judged, especially when one acknowledges the difficulties in squeezing Hilary Mantel's immense volumes into six hours of television, and Peter Kosminsky has kept events moving along without being afraid to linger a while on the subtle signals of intrigue that are never far from Mark Rylance's face. The fact that much of Kosminsky's work has been in the political arena is very obvious here, and he gives us a needle-sharp insight into the machinations of that world, indicating that in oh so many ways, things don't change that much. Apart from the costumes, of course.

I can't wait for the rest of the series.

Peter Straughan condenses Hilary Mantel's award winning historical fiction novels for television. Peter Kominsky gets all the candles he needs for gloomily lit interiors but more importantly gets out great performances from his actors and a wonderful paced drama. There is little here that is stuffy or po faced.

Damian Lewis is a thinner, youthful and more athletic Henry VIII here. Claire Foy (Ann Boleyn) is the chancer who uses her body to enchant Henry when almost everyone is against her. Thomas More is portrayed as a religious zealot here happy to torture and kill in the name of Rome, far removed from 'A man of all seasons.'

Holding everything together is an understated but riveting performance by Mark Rylance as Thomas Cromwell. A social climber, a fixer, the son of a Putney blacksmith adept in the shadowy world of political intrigue and planning. Cromwell literally lurks in the shadows helped with all that candlelight. Cromwell is loyal too as he is with Cardinal Wolsey even after his fall from grace.

The kernel of the story is familiar although it is easy to forget that this is an adaptation of historical fiction. In short it is not all true.