Jane Rochford

Jane Rochford is married to George Boleyn, which places her at the restless centre of the Boleyn family's rise. She watches the court with a sharp, unillusioned eye, missing nothing about who is favoured and who is not. Sociable and quick-tongued, she seems to know exactly how precarious her position is.

Lydia Leonard plays her as someone permanently, intelligently alert to danger, which makes her a superb lens onto a court where every smile is a calculation. The writing gives her wit rather than warmth, and Leonard uses it to suggest a woman who has learned that watching closely is the only safety available to her.