The Six Wives Of Henry VIII

1 9 7 0 (UK)
6 x 90 minute episodes

The Six Wives Of Henry VIII was first broadcast by the BBC in 1970 and became one of its most celebrated historical drama serials. The nine-hour series went on to be shown in some seventy countries and received seven major awards for both the quality of the performances and for its historical authenticity.

The gargantuan figure of Henry himself was played by the hitherto unknown Australian actor Keith Michell, who earned an award for "Best Television Actor" as a result of his efforts. Michell started out as an art teacher in Adelaide and really owed the role to Laurence Olivier, who had been impressed by Michell while on tour in Australia and had brought him back to England to advance his career. 

The series was neatly split into six episodes, each one dealing with one of the six wives and tracing their varied experiences and sometimes bloody ends at the hands of one of England's most infamous rulers. The wives themselves were played by Annette Crosbie, Dorothy Tutin, Anne Stallybrass, Elvi Hale, Angela Pleasance, and Rosalie Crutchley, all respected stars of stage and screen. Annette Crosbie collected a "Best Actress" award for her performance as Catherine of Aragon.

Michell, though, was always the focus of attention. His challenge was to portray Henry at the different stages of his life, beginning with the athletic 18-year-old monarch and culminating in the oversize 56-year-old tyrant plagued by a variety of physical ailments. 

Playing the aging Henry proved the most demanding challenge. Michell, who boasted only half the girth of the real king, spent over four hours each day having his make-up applied and was unable to eat or drink except through a straw because of the padding tucked into his cheeks. The impersonation was very convincing and critics hailed the attention to detail in costume and sets. 

The women were not spared either - they had to wear peculiar corsets to obtain the flat-chested look that was a feature of the period. No one twigged that Henry's mink robes were really made of rabbit fur, or that the fabulous jewels adorning his hats and coats were humble washers and screws sprayed with paint.

The costumes and settings and the brilliance of Michell and his co-stars ensured the success of the series and stardom to Michell. The series also did much to establish the BBC's cherished reputation for ambitious and historically authentic costume drama, consolidated a year later by the equally-acclaimed series Elizabeth R, starring Glenda Jackson as Henry's daughter.