Dame Diana Rigg is set to star in 'Victoria'.

Dame Diana Rigg

Dame Diana Rigg

The 78-year-old actress will take on the role of the Duchess of Buccleauch in the second series of the ITV royal drama alongside Jenna Coleman - who will reprise her role as the titular monarch - and Tom Hughes, who will return as Prince Albert.

Diana - who is best known for her role as Emma Peel in the 1960s' spy series 'The Avengers', and as Olenna Tyrell in the HBO fantasy drama 'Game of Thrones' - will play the young queen's new Mistress of the Robes, who is "renowned for speaking her mind".

The upcoming series of the drama takes place roughly six weeks after the last series - which ended in October 2016 - and is set to establish Queen Victoria as a new mother, as she is "learning to balance her responsibilities as both parent and queen".

Daisy Goodwin, the show's creator, told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "Victoria is the only Queen Regnant to marry and give birth while on the throne and the challenges of being head of state as well as a wife and mother are legion.

"In many ways, Victoria's dilemma is a modern one - how do you have a successful marriage and a happy family when you are holding down an important job. Can you really have it all?"

Meanwhile, executive producer Damien Timmer said of the new series: "At the centre of it is a beautifully nuanced study of a young marriage, and it's a joy to watch Jenna and Tom find new layers to this iconic couple."

ITV bosses were given the go ahead to do another series last year - just weeks after its debut on screen last September - and a festive special this year is also in the pipeline.

And it seems there may be more series on the way as Daisy still has ideas up her sleeve that she'd like to put into a script over the next few years.

Jenna, 30, explained previously: "We're doing season two and then it's a question of where we go from there. There's no shortage of story. You don't want to go through it too quickly. There are nine children to have, so there is a long way to go."

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