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Skins star wreaks havoc in explosive TV comeback for BBC drama
After Skins, The ABC Murders and Industry, Freya Mavor takes on a new role in the second season of BBC's Marie Antoinette, embodying a ruthless and calculating villainess.
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Emilia SchĂźle and Louis Cunningham are back in the opulent world of Versailles as BBC2âs Marie Antoinette returns for a high-stakes second season.
But this time, the gilded palace walls canât hold back the chaos. âSeason one was like a walk in the park,â says Emilia SchĂźle, âSeason two is much more high-stakes.â
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Disorder looms for their characters, Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI, who are now navigating a new dynamic as parents. âTheyâve settled into this new kind of platonic love,â says Louis Cunningham, âTheyâve produced the heirs that theyâre expected to. Theyâve done their duty and they can lean into friendship.â
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That emotional distance opens the door for Marie Antoinette to rekindle her romance with Count Axel von Fersen, newly returned from the American Revolutionary War. But peace is fleeting.
Their oldest sonâs health deteriorates - Louis-Joseph suffers from spinal tuberculosis, historically known as Pottâs disease. His tragic death in June 1789 would coincide with Franceâs descent into revolution.
But at the heart of that unravelling is a long-forgotten scandal involving Freya Mavorâs character, Jeanne de Valois. Though descended from Henry IV, Jeanne is no pampered royal.
Article continues belowâHer history is very traumatic and really dark,â says former Skins star Freya. âShe was hardened by the way she grew up. Itâs made her incredibly decisive and ruthless. She will perform, lie and manipulate to get herself where she wants to be.â
READ MORE:Shoppers rave over 'sunshine in a bottle' perfume that gives them a mood boostRaised in poverty, Jeanne becomes determined to infiltrate the upper echelons of French society by any means necessary - most notably by stealing a diamond necklace once gifted by Louis XV to his mistress, Jeanne du Barry.
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Jeanne forges the Queenâs signature to obtain the necklace, setting off a chain reaction that accelerates Franceâs political crisis. âShe definitely makes things difficult,â says Emilia, âSheâs definitely one of the people that really harmed the reputation of the monarchy, alongside the economic collapse and Marie Antoinetteâs questionable choices.â
The fallout is swift. Marie Antoinette is tried publicly, accused of masterminding the theft. âBoth of Louis and Marie Antoinetteâs reputations are on the line, but especially hers,â warns Louis, âHistorically, without that public trial, things might have been quite different for them.â
The seasonâs emotional intensity wasnât just felt on screen. The cast faced some of their most difficult scenes while filming in and around Paris. Emilia recalls dreading one scene in particular.
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âThereâs a major confrontation between Louis and Marie Antoinette regarding the state of their sonâs health,â she says, âI was dreading that scene. It was scary because I donât have children yet, it was very emotional.â
For Freya, the scenes depicting Jeanneâs comeuppance were hardest. âShe doesnât get away with it,â she says, âOne scene was particularly difficult, but violence is always tricky to play.
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Even if itâs all make believe, your body goes into a strange space. As a woman, enacting gender-based violence is always going to feel hard.â Fortunately, intimacy coordinators were on hand to support them.
Freya, known for her role as Mini McGuinness in Skins, embraced the opportunity to reconnect with her French roots - she was raised in La Rochelle - though this wasnât her first European production.
She notably starred opposite Vincent Cassel in The Emperor of Paris. But to tap into Jeanneâs cutthroat ambition, she turned to an unexpected source: RuPaulâs Drag Race. âJeanne plays personas and I found kindred spirits in the drag world,â she says, âThey know how to fully inhabit a character.â
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Production brought its own challenges. The crew only had Mondays to film on location at the Versailles Chateau, when it was closed to tourists.
âItâs chaos,â Louis says, âWe cram everything into one day.â Interior shots were filmed on a stunningly realistic studio set. âNo green screen,â he says, âThe production design is unbelievable.â
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Costume and styling were equally intricate. Contrary to popular belief, the castâs towering wigs are hollow to ease the weight, but the outfits are still demanding.
âI wore this massive white dress with a heavy headpiece,â Emilia says, âIt takes hours. They sew everything on while you stand still.â Her corset was another hurdle: âI felt sick the first time I wore it. But we figured out tricks. Weâd put it on loose in the morning and close it after hair and makeup, once my body heat had softened it.â
Louis faced his own wardrobe woes. âIn season one, Iâd rip my trousers every time I got on a horse,â he says, âThis time, they gave me stretch fabric.â His changing costumes also mirror his characterâs decline. âHe goes downhill and I wanted that reflected in his clothes and hair.â
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To stay grounded, Emilia leans on meditation and sleep. Louis now credits her for inspiring him to slow down. âI was exhausted last season,â he says, âI didnât know what I was doing. Emilia structures her life so well. I learned a lot from her.â
But Marie Antoinette isnât just a historical drama - itâs also a reclamation. Emilia is adamant: âMarie Antoinette is seen as spoiled but she was inspiring - almost a feminist. She fought for her freedom and family.â
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Louis agrees. âPeople think Louis XVI was weak but I see his passions - locks, clocks, books - as his strengths. He was a detailed intellectual and a great father. He just wasnât a conventional ruler.â
Season two doesnât just promise drama, it offers a deeper look at two misunderstood and vilified historical figures on the brink of an empireâs collapse.
And with everything unravelling around them, Marie Antoinette reminds us that even the most expensive crowns canât protect you from a revolution.
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 look inward Plus: a dearth of disclosures at papers of all stripes. %23havoc)
 â Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said he discussed Pete Rose with President Donald Trump at a meeting two weeks ago and he plans to rule on a request to end the sport's permanent ban of the career hits leader, who died in September.
Speaking Monday at a meeting of the Associated Press Sports Editors, Manfred said he and Trump have discussed several issues, including Manfred's concerns over how Trump's immigration policies could impact players from Cuba, Venezuela and other foreign countries.
Manfred is considering a petition to have Rose posthumously removed from MLB's permanently ineligible list. The petition was filed in January by Jeffrey Lenkov, a Southern California lawyer who represented Rose prior to the 17-time All-Star's death at age 83.
âI met with President Trump two weeks ago, I guess now, and one of the topics was Pete Rose, but Iâm not going beyond that, Manfred said. Heâs said what he said publicly, Iâm not going beyond that in terms of what the back and forth was.â
Trump posted on social media Feb. 28 that he plans to issue âa complete PARDON of Pete Rose.â Trump posted on Truth Social that Rose âshouldnât have been gambling on baseball, but only bet on HIS TEAM WINNING.â It's unclear what a presidential pardon might include â Trump did not specifically mention a tax case in which Rose pleaded guilty in 1990 to two counts of filing false tax returns and served a five-month prison sentence.
The president said he would sign a pardon for Rose âover the next few weeks but has not addressed the matter since.
Rose had 4,256 hits and also holds records for games (3,562) and plate appearances (15,890). He was the 1973 National League MVP and played on three World Series winners.
An investigation for MLB by lawyer John M. Dowd found Rose placed numerous bets on the Cincinnati Reds to win from 1985-87 while playing for and managing the team. Rose agreed with MLB on a permanent ban in 1989.
Lenkov is seeking Rose's reinstatement so that he can be considered for the Hall of Fame. Under a rule adopted by the Hallâs board of directors in 1991, anyone on the permanently ineligible list canât be considered for election to the Hall. Rose applied for reinstatement in 1997 and met with Commissioner Bud Selig in November 2002, but Selig never ruled on Roseâs request. Manfred in 2015 denied Roseâs application for reinstatement.
Manfred said reinstating Rose now was âa little more complicated than it might appear on the outside and did not commit to a timeline except that âI want to get it done promptly as soon as we get the work done.â
âIâm not going to give this the pocket veto, he said. I will in fact issue a ruling.â
Rose's reinstatement doesn't mean he would automatically appear on a Hall of Fame ballot. He would first have to be nominated by the Hall's Historical Overview Committee, which is picked by the Baseball Writersâ Association of America and approved by the Hall's board. Manfred is an ex-officio member of that board and says he has been in regular contact with chairman Jane Forbes Clark.
âI mean, believe me, a lot of Hall of Fame dialogue on this one, Manfred said.
If reinstated, Rose potentially would be eligible for consideration to be placed on a ballot to be considered by the 16-member Classic Baseball Era committee in December 2027.
Manfred added he doesn't think baseball's current ties to legal sports betting should color views on Rose's case.
âThere is and always has been a clear demarcation between what Rob Manfred, ordinary citizen, can do on the one hand, and what someone who has the privilege to play or work in Major League Baseball can do on the other in respect to gambling, he said. The fact that the law changed, and we sell data and/or sponsorships, which is essentially all we do, to sports betting enterprises, I donât think changes that. Itâs a privilege to play Major League Baseball. As with every privilege, there comes responsibilities. One of those responsibilities is that they not bet on the game.â
Manfred did not go into details on his discussion with Trump over foreign-born players other than to say he expressed worry.
Given the number of foreign-born players we have, we're always concerned about ingress and egress, Manfred said. We have had dialogue with the administration about this topic. And, you know, they're very interested in sports. They understand the unique need to be able to go back and forth, and I'm going to leave it at that.â
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 BeyoncĂŠ kicked off her 'Cowboy Carter' tour at Los Angeles' SoFi Stadium on Apr. 28. %23cowboycarter)
