An original drama spotlighting The Three Musketeers' iconic antagonist, Milady de Winter

Young, beautiful and courageous, Milady de Winter is a cunning spy, talented thief, and ruthless killer. She glides with ease through the streets and gilded halls of 17th-century France and England, turning heads or, with a click of her fingers, disappearing anonymously into a crowd. Driven by intellect and fierce desire, she is willing to go to any lengths to achieve her ambitions - and outwit the powerful men who try to crush her.

We first meet her as a young novice, forced by her father to enter a convent against her will. Exploiting her natural charms, she escapes back into the world, where she gains wealth and privilege. But a terrible ordeal at the hands of Athos leaves her penniless and alone. Fleeing to Paris, she is recruited into the service of the French crown, and schooled in the dark arts of espionage. There, her path crosses that of the Musketeers once more - and, deceived and betrayed by D'Artagnan, she begins a relentless and obsessive quest to destroy them.

Scarred by violence and forged in the fire, Milady undergoes a metamorphosis from wayward teenager to cold-hearted avenger - but as she ventures down the darkest of roads, she risks losing everything for the chance to satiate her lust for revenge...

A fascinating retelling of a classic tale, this tense, thrilling drama puts one of literature's greatest villains centre stage, reimagining Cardinal Richelieu's seductive, deadly fixer as a sharp-witted survivor with a compelling story to tell.

Production credits
Written by Lucy Catherine
Produced by Sasha Yevtushenko

Cast
Milady - Anjana Vasan
Father Laurent - Luke Nunn
De La Fere/Athos - Sam Troughton
Richelieu - Carl Prekopp
Comtesse/Madame Canard - Elizabeth Counsell
Marie Therese - Rhiannon Neads
Rochefort/Executioner - Don Gilet
Father/Jailer - Shaun Mason
Sheffield/Executioner/Innkeeper - Gerard McDermott
De Winter - Joe Kloska
Felton - Gavin Singh Chera
D'Artagnan - Ian Dunnett Jnr
Buckingham - Ryan Whittle

First broadcast BBC Radio 4, 4-11 September 2023