Olivia Cooke takes on lead role of Becky Sharp in ITV drama adaptation of Vanity Fair

Photo: ITV

Oldham-born actress Olivia Cooke as Becky Sharp pictured with Tom Bateman as Captain Rawdon Crawley in Vanity Fair

Oldham-born actress Olivia Cooke – star of Steven Spielberg’s forthcoming film Ready Player One – will take on the lead role of the scheming Becky Sharp in ITV’s drama adaptation of Vanity Fair.

Filming has started this week in Budapest, with the shooting then continuing in locations in and around London.

Gwyneth Hughes’ adaptation of Thackeray’s literary classic is set against the backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars, and follows Becky as she attempts to escape poverty and ascend the heights of English Society using her considerable charm and beauty.

The anti-heroine’s antics take her all the way to the court of King George IV, via the Battle of Waterloo.

Suranne Jones will play the snobbish, name-dropping society lady Miss Pinkerton and Michael Palin, the comedian and travel presenter, will play the part of Thackeray narrating the action.

Tom Bateman (Murder On The Orient Express) will play the role of the empty-headed cavalry officer Captain Rawdon Crawley and Charlie Rowe (Salvation) is taking on the part of the luckless soldier George Osborne.

Johnny Flynn, star of Channel 4’s sitcom Scrotal Recall, will play the genial Dobbin. Claudia Jessie (Line of Duty) plays Becky’s confidante Amelia Sedley, with Simon Russell Beale and Claire Skinner (Outnumbered) as her parents and David Fynn (School of Rock) as her brother Joss. Frances de La Tour (The History Boys) will play Miss Matilda Crawley.