Victoria
ITV

It’s 1848, the Year of Revolutions, with crowned heads toppling all over Europe; will the British monarchy also fall to the mob? That’s the question at the heart of the third series of the ITV hit drama about the life of Queen Victoria, which began this week (24 March). And just in case the viewer might have missed the point, episode one was titled “Uneasy Lies the Head that Wears the Crown”.

The first two series of Victoria enjoyed soaring ratings and some critical acclaim. The luminously pretty Jenna Coleman as Victoria is both likeable and watchable. She doesn’t sound very, well, Victorian, with her flattened, modern voice – but then she is given lines like “I will miss you soooooo much”; “Is that a problem?” and “Promise me you’ll take care”; which would sound anachronistic in any other kind of voice.

For the armchair pedant in the mood to throw objects at the screen there is much to relish in Victoria. Personally, I found the sudden bouts of running, running, running through woods and gardens a bit strange, especially in crinolines.