anne boleyn drama

Jodie Turner-Smith opens up about racism backlash ahead of Anne Boleyn drama 

We can't wait to see her in the role

TV & Film Editor
June 1, 2021

Channel 5's much-anticipated drama Anne Boleyn air on Tuesday night, and sees Jodie Turner-Smith play the role of the famous Queen of England, and Henry VIII's second wife. 

RELATED: Jodie Turner-Smith and Joshua Jackson’s baby stroller has gold wings - and it’s $1700

Following her casting, Jodie previously opened up about receiving racist backlash, telling Glamour: "I had just become a mother and that was what really jumped out at me, the story of Anne as a mother. I did know it would be something that people felt very passionately about, either in a positive or a negative way, because Anne is a human in history who people feel very strongly about. More than anything, I wanted to tell the human story at the centre of all of this."

WATCH: Will you be watching Channel 5's Anne Boleyn?

She continued: "[During filming] my daughter was only six months old and I was still nursing her,” Jodie continues. “So to have the experience of working with people that have so much compassion for where I was in my journey as a mother, as we were telling the story about a mother, I feel there was just so much more compassion in the storytelling."

Jodie opened up about the role

The drama is set to explore the final months of Anne Boleyn’s life from her perspective, as she struggles to secure a future for her daughter, Princess Elizabeth, and to challenge the patriarchy closing in around her. The show's synopsis reads: "Anne Boleyn will depict the key moments that cause Anne to topple, unpicking her immense strength, her fatal vulnerabilities and her determination to be an equal among men." 

MORE: Jodie Turner-Smith makes jaws drop as Anne Boleyn - and her famous friends can’t believe the transformation

The three-part series airs on Tuesday

Speaking about the role when she was cast, the Queen and Slim actress said: "I am so excited to join these exciting filmmakers in bringing the story of one of history's most controversial queens to the screen. Delving deeper into Anne Boleyn’s immense strengths while examining her fatal weaknesses and vulnerabilities, [writer Eve Hedderwick Turner's] scripts immediately captured my imagination." 

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