Judi Dench and Billy Connolly are a wonderfully regal double-act in this perceptive blend of fact and fiction.
The story examines the relationship between Queen Victoria and her Scottish servant, John Brown (a favourite riding companion of her late husband,) who audaciously dispelled her gloom after the death of Prince Albert and with whom she became so close that gossips gave her his name.
The Oscar-nominated Dench provides a wonderfully dignified counter-balance to comedian Connolly, whose forthright bluntness causes consternation among her tradition-bound household staff.
Though the role was originally to have been played by Sean Connery, Connolly is more than just a substitute and he makes the part his own.
Director John Madden and scriptwriter Jeremy Brock have created an engrossing account of an attachment that might have fulfilled itself romantically had it not been for the repressive conventions of the time.
Queen Victoria
Judi Dench John Brown
Billy Connolly Benjamin Disraeli
Antony Sher Henry Ponsonby
Geoffrey Palmer Doctor Jenner
Richard Pasco Bertie, Prince of Wales
David Westhead Archie Brown
Gerard Butler Lady Ely
Bridget McConnel Lady Churchill
Georgie Glen Lady in waiting
Catherine O’Donnell Princess Alexandra
Sara Stewart Princess Helena
Finty Williams Princess Louise
Claire Nicolson Princess Alice
Hattie Ladbury Prince Alfred
Oliver Kent Prince Arthur
Alex Menzies Prince Leopold
Simon McKerrell
