The Borgias is a British television

British television

Public television broadcasting started in the United Kingdom in 1936, and now has a collection of free and subscription services over a variety of distribution media, through which there are over 480 channelsTaking the base Sky EPG TV Channels. A breakdown is impossible due to a) the number of...

 drama serial produced by the BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 in 1981, in association with the Second Network of the Italian RAI - TV

RAI

RAI — Radiotelevisione italiana S.p.A. known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane, is the Italian state owned public service broadcaster controlled by the Ministry of Economic Development. Rai is the biggest television company in Italy...

 .

A historical series, The Borgias was set in Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 during the 15th century and told the story of Rodrigo Borgia (played by Adolfo Celi

Adolfo Celi

Adolfo Celi was an Italian film actor and director.-Life and career:Born in Messina, Sicily, Celi appeared in nearly 100 movies, specializing in international villains. His most famous role was as Emilio Largo in the 1965 James Bond movie Thunderball...

) - the future Pope Alexander VI - and his family, including his son Cesare

Cesare Borgia

Cesare Borgia , Duke of Valentinois, was an Italian condottiero, nobleman, politician, and cardinal. He was the son of Pope Alexander VI and his long-term mistress Vannozza dei Cattanei. He was the brother of Lucrezia Borgia; Giovanni Borgia , Duke of Gandia; and Gioffre Borgia , Prince of Squillace...

 (Oliver Cotton

Oliver Cotton

Oliver Cotton is an English actor, known for his work on stage, TV and film.After training at the Drama Centre London, he has worked extensively at the Royal National Theatre playing in many productions including The Royal Hunt of the Sun, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Much Ado About...

) and daughter Lucrezia

Lucrezia Borgia

Lucrezia Borgia [luˈkrɛtsia ˈbɔrʤa] was the illegitimate daughter of Rodrigo Borgia, the powerful Renaissance Valencian who later became Pope Alexander VI, and Vannozza dei Cattanei. Her brothers included Cesare Borgia, Giovanni Borgia, and Gioffre Borgia...

 (Anne Louise Lambert).

What was intended to be a gripping historical melodrama in the same vein as the earlier BBC series, I, Claudius

I, Claudius (TV series)

I, Claudius is a 1976 BBC Television adaptation of Robert Graves' I, Claudius and Claudius the God. Written by Jack Pulman, it proved one of the corporation's most successful drama serials of all time...

, despite locations and excellent cinemaphotography was not a critical success. The BBC screened the series at the same time as ITV's lavish Brideshead Revisited

Brideshead Revisited (TV serial)

Brideshead Revisited is a 1981 British television serial produced by Granada Television for broadcast by the ITV network. The teleplay is based on Evelyn Waugh's novel Brideshead Revisited...

 with critics contrasting the high production values and stellar cast of Brideshead with The Borgias seemingly focussed on the frequent graphic violence and nudity. The Sicilian

Sicily

Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...

-born actor Adolfo Celi, well known to have a heavy Sicilian accent, is said to have had much difficulty enunciating his lines, although his thickly-accented English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 gave the series a credible air. Its producer was Mark Shivas

Mark Shivas

Mark Shivas was a British television producer, film producer and executive. He began his career at BBC Television in the 1960s, and quickly became one of the department's noted producers...

.

The 10 episodes follow events from 1492 when Rodrigo is elected pope and concludes in 1507 with Cesare's violent death.

Cast

Character	Actor
Pope Alexander VI	Adolfo Celi Adolfo Celi Adolfo Celi was an Italian film actor and director.-Life and career:Born in Messina, Sicily, Celi appeared in nearly 100 movies, specializing in international villains. His most famous role was as Emilio Largo in the 1965 James Bond movie Thunderball...
Cesare Borgia	Oliver Cotton Oliver Cotton Oliver Cotton is an English actor, known for his work on stage, TV and film.After training at the Drama Centre London, he has worked extensively at the Royal National Theatre playing in many productions including The Royal Hunt of the Sun, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Much Ado About...
Giuliano della Rovere	Alfred Burke Alfred Burke Alfred Burke was a British actor, best known for his portrayal of Frank Marker in the drama series Public Eye, which ran on television for ten years.-Early life:...
Lucrezia Borgia	Anne Louise Lambert
Juan Borgia	George Camiller