The Borgias (1981 TV series)

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The Borgias
Created by	Mark Shivas
Written by	John Prebble Ken Taylor
Directed by	Brian Farnham
Starring	Adolfo Celi Oliver Cotton
Music by	Georges Delerue
Country of origin	United Kingdom Italy
No. of seasons	1
Production
Producer	Mark Shivas
Production company	BBC – RAI
Original release
Network	BBC Two
Release	14 October (1981-10-14) – 16 December 1981 (1981-12-16)
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The Borgias is a British television drama serial produced by the BBC in 1981, in association with the Second Network of the Italian broadcaster RAI. The series, produced by Mark Shivas, was set in Italy during the late 15th and early 16th centuries and told the story of Rodrigo Borgia (played by Adolfo Celi) – the future Pope Alexander VI – and his family, including his son Cesare (Oliver Cotton) and daughter Lucrezia (Anne Louise Lambert).

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

Despite high ratings, the programme was not a critical success, with many commentators focusing on Celi's accented English and making invidious comparisons with ITV's high-profile competitor Brideshead Revisited.