My Lady Jane cast, filming locations and episode guide for Amazon Prime drama

26/06/2024

If Bridgerton has left you craving more period drama, My Lady Jane may well scratch that itch.

The new series from Amazon Prime is adapted from a series of novels reimagining the life of Lady Jane Grey, written by Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand and Jodi Meadows.

According to the streaming platform, the eight-part series promises “an epic tale of true love, high adventure, regicidal maniacs, deadpan heroism, devious intrigues, swashbuckling swordfights, a soupçon of magical realism and oodles of yearning, banter and undeniable chemistry”.

Inspired by Lady Jane Grey, an English noblewoman who was “queen” for just nine days in the 16th century, the series takes a whimsical and romantic twist that strays from the history books.

Lady Jane’s world is also one in which individuals known as Ethians hold the magical ability to transform into animals.

Set in the turbulent Tudor period, following King Henry VIII’s demise, the series features a host of familiar faces from UK television, including Rob Brydon, Anna Chancellor, Jim Broadbent and Dominic Cooper.

Who is in the My Lady Jane cast?

Lady Jane Grey: Emily Bader

amazon, my lady jane cast, filming locations and episode guide for amazon prime drama

Emily Bader in the titular role (Photo: Jonathan Prime/Prime Video)

A US actor takes on the role of Lady Jane.

Her breakthrough performance came in the horror film Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin.

She has also appeared in the 2022 reboot of Charmed and the indie drama Fresh Kills.

Showrunners Gemma Burgess and Meredith Glynn told The Express that they had “difficulty” finding the perfect Jane before they discovered Bader living just “three blocks away” from Amazon Studios in Los Angeles.

Lord Guildford Dudley: Edward Bluemel

Edward Bluemel in My Lady Jane (Photo: Jonathan Prime/Prime Video)

Bluemel plays Lady Jane’s reluctant husband, a notorious cad.

He has appeared in A Discovery of Witches, The Commuter, Sex Education, Killing Eve and the 2022 Netflix film Persuasion. “If you take something like Bridgerton and something like Game of Thrones, this is somewhere exactly in the middle of that,” he told Times of India.

“It incorporates elements of both. You’ve got the really fun fantasy side of it, the romance side, and of top of that, it’s incredibly funny.”

King Edward VI: Jordan Peters

Jordan Peters as the sickly monarch (Photo: Jonathan Prime/Prime Video)

Jordan Peters plays the role of the sickly King Edward VI, who was King of England from 1547 until his death in 1553.

Born and raised in south London, you might recognise Peters from the Paramount+ series The Flatshare, Everything I Know About Love and the romantic film After Ever Happy. He has also appeared in Call the Midwife and Gangs of London.

Princess Mary: Kate O’Flynn

Kate O’Flynn plays the devious Princess Mary who will do anything to keep Lady Jane away from power.

Bury-born O’Flynn’s first role was in Mike Leigh’s 2008 film Happy-Go-Lucky. The same year, her performance in The Children’s Hour with the Royal Exchange Theatre Company won her the 2008 TMA Theatre Award for Best Supporting Performance in a Play.

Other film appearances include the film Mr Turner. TV appearances include Death in Paradise, Father Brown, Everyone Else Burns and Henpocalypse!.

Lord Seymour: Dominic Cooper

Dominic Cooper as Lord Seymour in My Lady Jane (Photo: Jonathan Prime/Prime Video)

Dominic Cooper plays Lord Seymour, another schemer in the Royal Court. Cooper’s breakout role was in the play The History Boys. Film roles have included An Education, My Week with Marilyn, Mamma Mia! and Captain America: The First Avenger.

His co-stars in My Lady Jane spilled the beans on some of his more eccentric behaviour on set. In conversation with OK! Magazine, Brydon revealed that while Cooper was “great company”, he had a few “bizarre” habits during filming.

“Dom is a real character,” Brydon said. “He’s eccentric and he’s highly strung, wonderful company, but well…” co-star Anna Chancellor chiming in: “He’s always doing something.”

Brydon continued: “That’s it – he’s always doing something! He never sits still. I’ll tell you what he’s doing – changing his clothes. So you get to the end of a take. Well, we’re going to stay in our clothes, right? Obviously, until they reset, he’s taking off his shoes, putting big trainers on, pulling over sweatpants, taking off the multi-buttoned jacket,” he laughs.

“Bizarre behaviour! There’s always people fussing around him in between things.”

Chancellor added: “He loves to know what’s going on with catering. He’s like, ‘You’ll never guess what they’ve got around there.’ He knows everyone – all the drivers, the security. He’s been around the block. And then sometimes because he [doesn’t] want to be talked to, so he puts ‘don’t talk to me’ on his trailer because he wants to sleep. He is good company though.”

Lady Frances Grey: Anna Chancellor

Anna Chancellor as Lady Frances Grey (Photo: Jonathan Prime/Prime Video)

Anna Chancellor plays Lady Jane’s cunning mother, who intends to see her family return to the throne. The Bafta and Laurence Olivier-nominated actor has appeared widely on stage and screen.

Best known to some readers as Henrietta “Duckface” in Four Weddings and a Funeral, she has also appeared in the BBC series Pride and Prejudice, Tipping the Velvet, Spooks, Granchester, Pramface, Kavanagh QC, Rain Dogs and The Crown.

Lord Dudley: Rob Brydon

Rob Brydon as Lord Dudley (Photo: Jonathan Prime/Prime Video)

Brydon plays the scheming Lord Dudley who tries to manipulate Lady Jane for his own selfish means.

The actor and comedian is best known for his role as Uncle Bryn in Gavin and Stacey. Since 2009, he has presented the BBC One comedy panel show Would I Lie To You?. He has also appeared in several shows with fellow comedian and actor, Steve Coogan, including 24 Hour Party People, The Trip and A Cock and Bull Story.

Duke of Leicester: Jim Broadbent

Broadbent plays the lecherous Duke of Leicester who wishes to marry one of Lady Frances’ young daughters.

He has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards as well as nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards and a Grammy Award.

He is best known for playing Horace Slughorn in the Harry Potter film series, Digory Kirke in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Samuel Gruber in the Paddington film series.

Other film appearances include Another Year, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Iris, Hot Fuzz, Gangs of New York, Bridget Jones’s Diary, Life Is Sweet and Moulin Rouge.

Other cast members include:

Will Keen as Duke of Norfolk
Máiréad Tyers as Susanna, close friend of Lady Jane.[2]
Robyn Betteridge as Margaret Grey
Abbie Hern as Bess
Harry Trevaldwyn as George
Jason Forbes as Scrope

Where was My Lady Jane filmed?

On set during the production of My Lady Jane (Photo: Prime Video)

Similarly to Bridgerton, My Lady Jane took advantage of some of the UK’s most picturesque spots when it came to filming.

Locations manager Bill Darby spoke of the challenge of finding the right locations in which to film. “We set out on a road trip quite quickly and spent about 2-3 weeks scouting locations for our body of work, which spanned as far west as Cornwall and as far north as Derbyshire,” he said.

“We ended up with a great selection of locations across the UK that we felt tied in perfectly with the show and really brought My Lady Jane to life.”

“We were at Hampton Court Palace [Middlesex] we went to Great Chalfield Manor [Wiltshire] and Dorney Court [Berkshire],” showrunner Gemma Burgess told The Express.

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“We went to Broughton Castle [Oxfordshire] we went to Herstmonceux [Castle, in East Sussex. Dover Castle [Kent].

“And then we had wonderful sets. I don’t know what the breakdown is… 50/50?”

“The sets were so well realised that you felt like you were at [the real locations],” added Rob Brydon.

“So, my castle was real, Dover Castle was real. But, when we were in the Great Hall, those were all sets.”

Other destinations included Ashridge Estate in Rinshall, Hatfield House & Estate in Hertfordshire, Langley Park in Buckinghamshire, and The Priory Church of St Bartholomew the Great in London.