THE BORGIAS

SCANDALOUS PERIOD SAGA Sexy, lavish and slightly soapy, this historical fiction drama created by Neil Jordan in 2011 takes us deep into the conniving world of papal family the Borgias. This ambitious clan are happy to use everything in their arsenal from bribery to murder as part of their relentless quest for wealth and power. It stars a deliciously devilish Jeremy Irons as Pope Alexander VI and Holliday Grainger as Lucrezia, the favourite of his children, whose love life is a disaster – her husband and lover are both murdered while her feelings towards her brother Cesare (Francois Arnaud, above with Grainger) are unnatural. There are three glorious series of scheming and scandals to get your teeth into, although a planned fourth was canned due to the prohibitive expense of the show, which was originally shown on Sky over here.