The New Mr Darcy?

Move over, Colin Firth! We meet period dramas latest leading man, Tom Bateman.

- Emma Bullimore

Currently playing Becky Sharp’s long-suffering husband, Rawdon Crawley, in Vanity Fair, actor Tom Bateman was recently announced as the lead in new period piece Beecham House, touted by many people as ITV’s replacement for Downton Abbey.

Yes, Oxford-born Tom, 29, is becoming the rising star of British costume drama. Charming and chatty as TV Times talks to him on the Vanity Fair set, classically trained Tom – who has 13 siblings including a twin brother, and is dating Star Wars’ Daisy Ridley – says he is always looking to keep life interesting with a variety of different roles, but can’t stop himself falling in love with the world of corsets and curtsies…

How does it feel to play the role of the dashing hero?