Prince and the Pauper, The

1 9 9 6 (UK)
6 x 30 minute episodes

Based on the famed Mark Twain novel, this Sunday teatime family serial from the BBC told the story of a poor London street urchin named Tom Canty and Edward, Prince of Wales – the only son of King Henry VIII – who look and sound alike, and exchange identities to experience each other’s lives.

And so Tom finds himself playing the prince in the palace while Edward has to learn to survive in the violent world of Tudor England. By the time Edward returns to halt the Coronation ceremony, both he and Tom have changed forever.

13-year-old Philip Sarson played both parts in his television debut.

The cast included John Bowe as the devious Earl of Hertford, Peter Jeffrey as the kind Duke of Norfolk (a role he had already played in the 1969 film Anne of the Thousand Days alongside Richard Burton), James Purefoy as Miles Hendon and Keith Michell reprising the role he made famous in the legendary 1970s series The Six Wives of Henry VIII.

Elizabeth Ann O’Brien played the future Queen Elizabeth, Virginia Beare played Bloody Mary, and 16-year-old Sophia Myles played Lady Jane Grey.

Edward, Prince of Wales/Tom Canty
Philip Sarson
The Duke of Norfolk
Peter Jeffrey
The Duke of Somerset/The Earl of Hertford
John Bowe
Lady Milford
Richenda Carey
Sir Thomas Seymour
Rupert Frazer
Lady Elizabeth
Elizabeth Ann O’Brien
Chamberlain
Douglas Reith
Miles Hendon
James Purefoy
Lady Mary
Virginia Beare
Humphrey Marlow
Max Johnson
John Canty
John Judd
Mother Canty
Jenny McCracken
Nan Canty
Lucy Speed
Lady Jane Grey
Sophia Myles
Father Thomas
Paul Chapman
Goody Watson
Janet Henfrey
Hugo
Freddy White
King Henry VIII
Keith Michell

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