ITV’s Victoria is axed after three series because of nose-diving ratings
ROYAL drama Victoria, which starred Jenna Coleman as the former queen, has been axed by ITV after three series.
The last run of the show was screened two years ago.
It had a prime-time Sunday night slot but the viewing figures were disappointing.
A further series would have seen Jenna, 35, perform intimate scenes with her ex-boyfriend Tom Hughes, 36 — who played the monarch’s husband, Prince Albert.
A TV insider said: “This was the show which turned Jenna Coleman into a household name and gave ITV one of its biggest hits.
“When it first launched five years ago it was getting seven million in the ratings and beat the BBC’s Sunday night period epic, Poldark.
“But there are so many challenges facing bosses who’ve been weighing up a fourth series — not least the availability of their central star who’s now one of the country’s most in-demand actors.”
Jenna, who started her career on ITV soap Emmerdale and BBC1’s Doctor Who, fell in love with Tom while filming series one of Victoria, which aired in 2016.
It was followed by sequels in 2017 and 2019.
The last series which covered the queen’s reign up until 1851, had a weekly UK audience of around 2.8million.
Around the time of those episodes, Jenna said: “It’s definitely going to take a break, a bit of a breather.”
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Last year it emerged she had split from Tom after four years together.
Since then her star has soared. She has appeared in BBC1 thriller The Serpent and signed up to film World War Two drama series The War Rooms — on which she is also executive producer.
A spokeswoman for ITV said: “There are no plans presently to film Victoria, but that’s not to say we won’t revisit the series with the production team at a later date.”
