Harriet Walter and Timothy Spall are among the huge, starry cast announced for the new season.

By James Hibbs

Published: Monday, 04 December 2023 at 14:00 PM


With Wolf Hall returning for its second and final season, additional cast members have now been announced, joining returning stars including Mark Rylance, Damian Lewis, Jonathan Pryce, Kate Phillips and Lilit Lesser.

Among those joining the cast include Succession‘s Harriet Walter, playing Lady Margaret Pole, and Harry Potter‘s Timothy Spall, playing the Duke of Norfolk.

Also joining the cast are Alex Jennings (The Crown) as Stephen Gardiner, Maisie Richardson-Sellers (The Undeclared War) as Bess Oughtred, Lydia Leonard (Gentleman Jack) as Lady Jane Rochford, Charlie Rowe (Rocketman) as Gregory Cromwell and Harry Melling (The Queen’s Gambit) as Thomas Wriothesley.

Meanwhile, Corentin Fila (Notre-Dame) will play Christophe, Tom Mothersdale (Bodies) will play Richard Riche, Karim Kadjar (Mike) will play Eustache Chapuys, Lucy Russell (A Spy Among Friends) will play Lady Anne Shelton, Will Tudor (Industry) will play Edward Seymour and Viola Prettejohn (The Witcher) will play Mary Fitzroy.

King Henry VIII (Damian Lewis) and Thomas Cromwell (Mark Rylance) in Wolf Hall wearing regal attire
King Henry VIII (Damian Lewis) and Thomas Cromwell (Mark Rylance) in Wolf Hall.
BBC/Company Productions Ltd/Giles Keyte

More new cast members include Thomas Arnold (A Spy Among Friends) as Hans Holbein, Jordan Kouamé (Malpractice) as Martin The Gaoler, Agnes O’Casey (Ridley Road) as Lady Margaret Douglas, Cecilia Appiah (Hijack) as Nan Seymour, Ellie de Lange (The Serpent) as Jenneke and Hubert Burton (Living) as Thomas Howard the Lesser.

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All of these stars will join other returning cast members from season 1 who have been announced, including Thomas Brodie-Sangster (Love Actually) as Rafe Sadler and Joss Porter (The Undeclared War) as Richard Cromwell.

Director Peter Kosminsky said: “Casting Director Robert Sterne has done a truly extraordinary job assembling the most stunning cast with which I’ve ever had the privilege to work.

“Led by Mark Rylance and Damian Lewis, they’ve been drawn by the quality of Hilary Mantel’s writing and Peter Straughan’s adroit adaptation.

“Shooting in Tudor locations all over England and Wales, it is our privilege to bring Hilary’s last novel to an international television audience.”

Sterne is also known for having worked as casting director on The Crown, and he recently spoke with RadioTimes.com about the process of casting Prince William and Kate Middleton in the new season.

Talking about finding the right star for the latter, he said: “Dealing with that with a grace and a presence of mind, that’s what Meg [Bellamy] was brilliant at.”