OK so I finally got round to finishing watching the last of 8 episodes.
As a drama, Victoria was ok. As a history, Victoria was ok.
I’ll admit that it was a struggle to get through the first episode as I was annoyed by Jenna Coleman repeatedly showing off her blue contact lenses into the camera. Once I got past that it was quite enjoyable, especially because it made me look up lots of facts about the Queen’s life so it stimulated my interest.
Albert. Oh dear. There was no chemistry between Victoria and Albert and I was left wondering what they saw in each other. Her relationship with Melbourne was portrayed in a much more passionate way and was conveyed through eye contact and longing looks. Then he disappeared and Albert showed up just to annoy everyone (including me).
I liked the juxtaposition of ‘life below stairs’ and the relationship between the cook and the dresser. It therefore had shades of Downton about it: obviously ITV sticking to a winning formula!
Having been recently pregnant myself, I fully appreciated the scenes of uncomfortable frustration and thought Coleman acted this well. Shame the final scene of the entire series was her lovingly cradling her baby when in fact she was quite repulsed by miniature human beings.
I am definitely planning to watch the next series but more to improve my own knowledge of the era than because it was a good piece of telly.