Versailles: Controversial French drama enlists Brit actors in hopes of a BBC smash hit

Though a French production, the new historical drama is both in English and features Brit actors in its pivotal roles

The lavish, racy historical drama always has its place in British television; and French production Versailles is hoping it's next to usurp the throne.

Hoping to fill the void left by the likes of The Tudors and The Borgias, a dramatic recreation of the iconic palace's construction is headed straight to BBC2. And, clearly, producers are hoping they've got a cross-Channel hit on their hands: being that the show's surprisingly both in English, and features two Brit actors front-and-centre of the production.

London-born George Blagden plays one of the most powerful and awe-worthy monarchs of French history, the Sun King himself, Louis XIV; Welsh actor Alexander Vlahos, best known for playing Mordred on Merlin, takes the role of his brother Philippe I, Duke of Orléans.

"At first we thought we were going to get our heads ripped off," Vlahos told The Observer. "A pair of British actors daring to play these historic French characters. But it has gone down very well." Indeed, the show has proved to be a huge hit in France; with broadcaster Canal+ already commissioning a second season.

"This whole show is about the power game between the two brothers," he continued. "We know there is a lot of interest in period drama at the moment, but the cast in this one are of an average age of around 25, so it does feel quite different."

"People like labels so, yes, it is a period drama, but not in the conventional BBC sense, or even an ITV sense. Historically speaking, court etiquette should really have been more of a feature, but we didn’t want it to be too stuffy."

Indeed, the show has already attracted controversy in the UK before it's even aired; with Conservative MPs and family rights campaigners accusing the show of being nothing more than, "porn dressed up in a cravat and tights."

"It is political and it is raunchy," Vlahos himself said. "The scripts lured me. I read two episodes and felt they were genuinely doing something new. I am proud of it for that. Philippe is a cross-dresser and a warrior. He has a wife, Henriette, and a gay lover as well."

Versailles is set to air on BBC2 at the end of summer.