Sir Derek Jacobi has said that his 1970s BBC drama I, Claudius paved the way for modern serials about “rich families behaving badly”, including Downton Abbey and Dynasty. The 12-part serial, based on the novel by Robert Graves about the early Roman Empire, marks its 50th anniversary next month and is now available on BBC iPlayer.
Ground-breaking drama
The veteran actor believes the series broke the mould of TV dramas at the time. He recalled meeting the creators of Dynasty, who told him: “We watched I, Claudius and it's because of you and the series that we have written this! We have based our series on that Roman, that mad Roman family.”
He added: “And that sort of story is happening everywhere. Every story is about rich people behaving badly. I mean look at Downton Abbey!”
Cast and characters
The show featured shocking characters, including his great grandmother Livia, who poisoned many of his enemies; his unhinged nephew Caligula, who indulged in incest; and his murderous stepson Nero, who plotted his downfall. It also boasted a cast of famous faces such as Sir John Hurt, Brian Blessed, Patrick Stewart, Christopher Biggins, Stratford Johns and Sian Phillips.
Initial criticism and later acclaim
When I, Claudius first launched on British television in 1976, the critics were not kind. Sir Derek recalls: “The critics didn't really like it at first which was a great blow. The first three episodes the critics were very ‘iffy’ about it. And then the critic Bernard Levin urged everybody to revisit it. He wrote a very glowing review saying ‘You may have thought this started slowly but watch this now’.”
Sir Derek admits he was lucky to have landed the role of Emperor Claudius, as he wasn’t even on the BBC’s radar when they were casting. He said: “So they were looking for someone to play Claudius and they asked Charlton Heston. Thank goodness he turned it down. Then they asked Ronnie Barker who also – thank goodness – turned it down.”
The role made him a household name, and he went on to appear in Last Tango In Halifax, Vicious and Doctor Who on TV, movies including Gladiator, The King’s Speech and Nanny McPhee, and on stage in Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, King Lear and Twelfth Night.
