‘Victoria’ bosses are looking at heating up the new series by introducing new hunk David Burnett to the cast.
It’s said producers for the ITV drama are keen for the star to strip off in steamy scenes after seeing out Aidan Turner’s shirtless moments have done for the BBC’s ‘Poldark’ ratings.
As reported by The Sun newspaper’s TV Bizarre column, the actor is set to play Joseph, who will have a romantic affair with a member of the royal household in a bid to bump up its viewership following a bit of a decline.
Although the first series pulled in an impressive six million viewers, almost half of that – 3.7 million – tuned in for the secod season.
An ITV source added: "Bosses hope making the show racier will turn its fortunes around."
The third series is set to air in the spring, but leading lady Jenna Coleman isn’t sure how much longer she’ll be able to play Queen Victoria herself.
She previously said: "She’s starting to look more matronly. There will come a point when no amount of prosthetic make-up or me lowering my voice will be convincing enough."
And Jenna has also revealed how she initially turned down the role twice before accepting because she was initially wary of signing up for another long-running show after leaving ‘Doctor Who’.
She said: "I had just finished doing nearly four years on ‘Doctor Who’ and I didn’t want to do another long TV project.
"I wanted to do lots of different things, but now I’m doing ‘Victoria’, I find her quite addictive."
Victoria bosses cast David Burnett as new hunk to heat things up
