The Shadow of the Tower

The Shadow of the Tower is a historical drama that was broadcast on BBC2 in 1972. It was a prequel to the earlier serials The Six Wives of Henry VIII and Elizabeth R and featured several actors who had appeared in them (but in new roles). Consisting of thirteen episodes, it focused on the reign of Henry VII of England and the creation of the Tudor dynasty.

The Shadow of the Tower
Genre	Historical
Written by	Rosemary Anne Sisson Hugh Whitemore Julian Mitchell
Directed by	Prudence Fitzgerald Moira Armstrong Anthea Browne-Wilkinson Joan Kemp-Welch
Starring	James Maxwell Norma West
Composer	Herbert Chappell
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	1
No. of episodes	13
Production
Production company	BBC
Original release
Network	BBC 2
Release	6 January (1972-01-06) – 30 March 1972 (1972-03-30)

Cast

Actor/Actress	Role
James Maxwell	King Henry VII
Norma West	Elizabeth of York
Marigold Sharman	Margaret Beaufort
Derek Anders	James IV
Adrienne Byrne	Catherine of Aragon
Denis Carey	Cardinal Morton
John Franklyn-Robbins	Sir William Stanley
Gawn Grainger	Earl of Kildare
Colin Jeavons	Sir Robert Clifford
Michael Johnson	Lord Lovell
Jason Kemp (previously credited as) Anthony Kemp	Prince Arthur
Rachel Kempson	Margaret of York
James Laurenson	Earl of Lincoln
Hayward Morse	Thomas Atwood
Christopher Neame	Earl of Warwick (as adult)
Jake Robson	Earl of Warwick (as boy)
Maurice Roëves	Humphrey Stafford
John Hamill	Thomas Stafford
Nicholas Selby	Earl of Devon
Richard Warwick	Perkin Warbeck
Joanna Tope	Cicely
Gary Warren	Lambert Simnel
Brian Badcoe	Jasper Tudor, Earl of Pembroke
John Bennett	De Puebla
Peter Hawkins, Kevin Moody, Denis Cleary	Voices

Episodes

Episode[1]	Air date	Title	Summary
1	6 Jan. 1972	Crown in Jeopardy	Henry Tudor emerges victorious over Richard III at the battle of Bosworth Field and seeks to form a coalition from which he hopes to establish a Tudor dynasty.
2	13 Jan. 1972	Power in the Land	Henry consolidates his power when Elizabeth gives birth to Prince Arthur legitimizing Henry's claim of descent from the legendary monarch.
3	20 Jan. 1972	The Schooling of Apes	Henry's enemies represent commoner Lambert Simnel as the Earl of Warwick, the York pretender. The Earl of Lincoln leaves for Ireland to head the army that is forming against Henry.
4	27 Jan. 1972	The Crowning of Apes	Henry forms an army to defend himself against the Irish-German army coming against him from Ireland.
5	3 Feb. 1972	The Serpent and the Comforter	King Henry is intrigued by a preacher who is arrested for heresy and speaks with him to persuade him to give up his dissension against the practices of the Catholic Church. The preacher emphasizes to him the simplicity of the Gospel, and his suffering and convictions impress a young Tower guard.[2]
6	10 Feb. 1972	The White Hart	The year is 1494 and King Henry is alarmed that the powerful and arrogant Sir William Stanley may be implicated in a plot against his crown.
7	17 Feb. 1972	A Fly in the Ointment	Addle-brained Sir John Kendall and his dim-witted nephew devise a ludicrous plan to kill the King with a harmless ointment from phony astrologer.
8	24 Feb. 1972	The Princely Gift	Visionary Italian navigator John Cabot has a difficult time convincing Bristol businessmen and the King that his Western voyage to China is practical and profitable.
9	2 Mar. 1972	Do the Sheep Sin?	Heavy-handed tax policies lead the peasants of Cornwall to march peacefully in protest on London, but an ambitions nobleman wants to use the pilgrimage to his own advantage.
10	9 Mar. 1972	The Man Who Never Was	Commoner Perkin Warbeck, pretender to Henry's throne, finds he's losing support throughout Europe.
11	16 Mar. 1972	The Strange Shapes of Reality	Although Perkin Warbeck enjoys only house arrest for his treason through Henry's mercy, he continues to plot against the King.
12	23 Mar. 1972	The Fledgling	In order to give his dynasty more credibility, Henry tries to arrange a marriage between his son and the Spanish princess, but there are preconditions.
13	30 Mar. 1972	The King without a Face	The year is now 1501 and Henry is now finally secure on the throne with his promising son Arthur about to marry Catherine of Aragon, however in the shadows tragic events are lying in wait for the King.