Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light – still a 'crown jewel'

This 'superlative' Tudor drama returns to BBC One and remains 'appointment weekly viewing'

Damian Lewis as King Henry VIII in BBC TV drama Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light
'Mercurial and magnetic' Damian Lewis as King Henry VIII
(Image credit: Nick Briggs © Playground Television (UK) Ltd)

"Wolf Hall" last aired nine years ago, and in a similar period of time King Henry VIII "oversaw a break from Papal Rome, established an independent Church of England and remarried, twice", said Dan Einav in the Financial Times. This "superlative" drama, adapted from the final novel of the "Wolf Hall" trilogy by Hilary Mantel, is set in a "turbulent period" of the Tudor king's rule.

Apart from a "few tweaks to the ensemble", it has "lost none of what made it the BBC's crown jewel a decade ago", said the FT.

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Adrienne Wyper has been a freelance sub-editor and writer for The Week's website and magazine since 2015. As a travel and lifestyle journalist, she has also written and edited for other titles including BBC Countryfile, British Travel Journal, Coast, Country Living, Country Walking, Good Housekeeping, The Independent, The Lady and Woman’s Own.