Henry VIII will not get fat in historically inaccurate The Tudors
The show's bosses have said Jonathan Rhys Meyers, who plays Henry in the costume drama will not be required to put on a fat suit to reflect the king's expanding waistline.
Henry, who died in 1547, was thought to have grown to more than 20st, with a waist of 54in, famously needing a hoist to life him on to his horse towards the end of his life.
But executive producer Morgan O'Sullivan said: "We still want him to be appealing.
"We don't want to destroy his good looks. An exact portrayal of Henry is not a factor that we think is important.
"We are not in the business of making Johnny look like Henry VIII. We have accepted that from day one.
"We have been criticised for not casting someone with red hair. But you either cast him exactly like Henry VIII, or you choose to deal with it differently.
Producers admitted for the fourth series, Rhys Meyers, 31, would age "quite a bit".
The second series of The Tudors, is attracting about two million viewers a week. The third is currently being filmed at Ardmore Studios in Co Wicklow, Ireland, taking the saga up to Henry's divorce from Anne of Cleves, who is played by singer Joss Stone.
The show has been accused of being too happy to distort history for dramatic effect...
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Henry, who died in 1547, was thought to have grown to more than 20st, with a waist of 54in, famously needing a hoist to life him on to his horse towards the end of his life.
But executive producer Morgan O'Sullivan said: "We still want him to be appealing.
"We don't want to destroy his good looks. An exact portrayal of Henry is not a factor that we think is important.
"We are not in the business of making Johnny look like Henry VIII. We have accepted that from day one.
"We have been criticised for not casting someone with red hair. But you either cast him exactly like Henry VIII, or you choose to deal with it differently.
Producers admitted for the fourth series, Rhys Meyers, 31, would age "quite a bit".
The second series of The Tudors, is attracting about two million viewers a week. The third is currently being filmed at Ardmore Studios in Co Wicklow, Ireland, taking the saga up to Henry's divorce from Anne of Cleves, who is played by singer Joss Stone.
The show has been accused of being too happy to distort history for dramatic effect...