She’s set to play the Duchess of Cambridge in controversial new BBC2 drama King Charles III.
And actress Chatlotte Riley has certainly not been afraid to take risks on-screen in the past, stripping off for a racy lovemaking scene in World War II drama Close To The Enemy.
Peaky Blinders star Riley, 35, – who is married to Tom Hardy – was seen romping with her co-star Jim Sturgess in the TV miniseries last year.
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The intimate on-screen moment saw her character Rachel’s in the throes of passion with her love interest Callum.
In newly resurfaced stills from the BBC period drama, the actress appears fully nude, bravely baring her figure on camera.
King Charles III, which starts on BBC 2 on Wednesday night is the TV adaptation of a play by Mike Bartlett.
The plot centres around the constitutional crisis that arises after the new king refuses to sign a bill into law that places harsh restrictions on press freedom.
It will show Prince William (played by Oliver Chris) and the Duchess of Cambridge (Riley) as they plot against the king, with Kate goading her husband to seize the throne.
The drama ends with Charles’s abdication and William’s coronation.
Richard Goulding will play Prince Harry, with republican girlfriend Jess Edwards (Tamara Lawrance). The play was written before Prince Harry met Meghan Markle, so she is not part of the script.
Charlotte, the wife of actor Tom Hardy, previously confessed she watched internet clips of the Duchess of Cambridge to perfect her portrayal of the Duchess.
Riley defended her portrayal of Kate as a scheming Lady Macbeth who wants Charles to abdicate in favour of William.
She told the Daily Mail: ‘She is pragmatic and wants to move things forward for the Royal Family,’ Riley says.
She encourages William to become the man she knows he can be, leading from the front. She’s almost like the CEO of a business.’
King Charles III has caused controversy ahead of his debut this Wednesday since it shows the funeral of Queen Elizabeth and the ghost of Princess Diana.
Tory MP Andrew Bridgen said: ‘It is unfortunate the BBC would seek to promote this flight of fantasy, which many licence-fee payers will find distasteful and which I believe denigrates and undermines our royal family.
‘I hope that the BBC will make clear that the production is pure fiction.’
In the last interview before his death on April 7, Tim Pigott-Smith said how painful the new BBC film, King Charles III, would be for the princes when the ghost of their dead mother Diana, Princess of Wales, appeared.
The actor, who died aged 70, takes on the role of Prince Charles in the 90-minute film that imagines the first days of his accession to the throne after the death of the Queen.
Princess Diana’s spirit appears when Prince Charles comes to the throne as she haunts the rooms of Buckingham Palace and tells her late husband: ‘You think I didn’t love you. It’s not true.’
Mr Pigott-Smith told The Times: ‘One area of the play I found incredibly painful to do was the ghost of Princess Diana. Just because that whole incident was so terrible.
‘I don’t think it is presumptuous of us to do it or wrong of us to do it.’
He went on to describe the scenes as ‘hyper-sensitive’. ‘It would be terribly upsetting for any of them to watch,’ he said.
The director behind the controversial BBC series King Charles III insisted claims that actors turned down roles because of fears of missing out on the Queen’s honours list were false.
Rupert Goold said the reports came from a ‘joke which got taken completely out of context.’
Source: Charlotte Riley strips off ahead of King Charles III role | Daily Mail Online
