Jenna Coleman looked as if she had well and truly left the land of Doctor Who, as she was transformed into a royal for her new role as Queen Victoria. The first photo of the actress in character has been released, and shows Jenna, 29, perfecting the regal look.
The dark-haired beauty struck an elegant pose for the cameras, wearing a shimmery blue and gold ballgown and a simple gold necklace. She had her hair styled into an elegant up-do, featuring very feminine side plaits.
Jenna will play a young Queen Victoria in the new ITV drama series Victoria.
The eight-part drama follows the early life of the royal, from when she ascended the throne at the tender age of 18 through to her courtship and marriage to Prince Albert. Victoria went on to rule for 63 years and was the longest-serving monarch until she was overtaken by the Queen on 9 September this year.
Jenna Coleman will play Queen Victoria in her early years, in new period drama Victoria
Jenna, who has starred in Death Comes to Pemberley and Dancing on the Edge, will be joined by Rufus Sewell who plays Lord Melbourne, Victoria's first prime minister. At the time, the pair immediately clicked and their intimate friendship became a popular source of gossip that threatened to destabilise the government – angering both Tory and Whigs alike.
The series will open with a 90-minute episode, followed by seven one-hour episodes, brought to screen from the same producers of Poldark. Filming will start in locations around the north of England this month.
The actress will be joined by Rufus Sewell, who plays Lord Melbourne, Victoria's first prime minister
Doctor Who fans will see Jenna exit the popular time-travelling show in November, when her character assistant Clara Oswald will reportedly be killed off. Last month Jenna spoke about her emotional goodbye and her new regal adventure ahead of her.
"I did get emotional," the British beauty told Nick Grimshaw. "I was really trying to fight against it but you can't help it. It's been my life, really, for the last three, four years. And I just love Peter [Capaldi] so much and the job so much and all the crew."
"I am about to start work on Queen Victoria," she added. "I have four weeks to become a Queen! I need to learn to ride a horse. I need to learn to waltz, play Beethoven. It's really fun."