Following on from the original, BAFTA-winning series The Hollow Crown in 2012 comes The Hollow Crown: The War of the Roses.
Judi Dench in The Hollow Crown
Featuring an incredible cast including Benedict Cumberbatch, Judi Dench and Keeley Hawes, Dominic Cooke directs the four-part series which focuses on Shakespeare's history plays; Henry VI and Richard III.
Check out this brilliant and exclusive Q&A we have with the wonderful Judi Dench below...
You agreed to play the part of Cecily in The Hollow Crown after Benedict Cumberbatch, who portrays Richard III, asked you if you would do it during a public Q and A on Shakespeare at the Hay Festival in 2014. What are your memories of that?
When Benedict pestered me to play the part at Hay, he took me completely by surprise. I just thought, 'What a brilliant way to be asked!'
Have you ever played Cecily before?
No. I've played a lot of Shakespearean ladies in waiting since my debut as Ophelia in the Old Vic's 1957 production of Hamlet, but I have never been in Richard III before. I did one scene from the play with John Wood on TV a very long time ago. It was the scene where Richard woos Anne. So it's very nice to clock it up and say, 'I've been in that!'
Are you pleased to be doing it now?
Yes. It is very exciting to be doing Richard III. My character looks in to check on people from time to time. I say a couple of lines, then go away again! I've always wanted to play the Duchess of York because that's where I'm from. I had been campaigning for Richard to be buried in York, but we lost that campaign and he was buried in Leicester instead.
Could you please outline your character's relationship with her son, Richard III?
Cecily just moans about her son all the time - with just cause! She curses him, and surprisingly she does so in front of children. She doesn't make much of a secret of her feelings about him. Her suspicions about him are palpable - and with good reason.
Why do we find Richard so seductive, even when we know how malevolent he is?
Richard III is the most charming villain. Anyone who can behave like that and then woo Lady Anne over the coffin of her dead husband must have something going for him!
What does Benedict bring to the role?
At the read-through, I thought he was just breathtaking - and that was just the first reading. Without even trying, he is just wonderful. How dare he!
Do you hope that The Hollow Crown will bring Shakespeare to a new audience?
Yes. For children who have never watched Shakespeare before, this should be the most marvellous way of learning about him. It's great to see all these plays together. I remember when they were first done together at Stratford with Peggy Ashcroft and Donald Sinden. I'd never seen them together before, and it was brilliant.
Will this drama, which brings together three of Shakespeare's most famous history plays, Henry VI Parts One and Two and Richard III, also help broaden our grasp of British history?
Yes. It is wonderful to see this great sweep of history from the moment Margaret arrives as a bride to what happens ultimately to Richard III. This is an excellent way for young people to understand history, even though Shakespeare may have bent the rules of it a bit!
What was your reaction when they discovered the remains of Richard III in a Leicester car park three years ago?
I think it is wonderful that they found Richard III's remains in a car park in Leicester - that's not what he would have wanted, is it? I also love the fact that someone said, 'It must be his grave because they found an R on the spot where he was buried' - when in fact the R stood for 'Reserved' in the car park!
Finally, has working on The Hollow Crown reaffirmed your love of the playwright?
Absolutely. All his plays still resonate for me. It's always wonderful to come back to Shakespeare, without question. Over the years I've had a very good dose of Shakespeare and I never, never, never get fed up of him. If you want someone to diss Shakespeare, then you've come to the wrong person!
The Hollow Crown: War of the Roses is released on Blu-ray and DVD on June 20.
Tagged in Dame Judi Dench