Sarah Ferguson has revealed she wants to ask Shonda Rhimes to adapt her upcoming Mills & Boon novel into a TV series after binge watching the producer’s latest series Bridgerton twice and becoming ‘obsessed with it’.
This week, the Duchess of York, 61, announced her latest book ‘Her Heart for A Compass’ a fictional account of the life of the Duchess’s great-great-aunt, Lady Margaret Montagu Douglas Scott, and she already has big plans for the romance novel.
Speaking to Us Weekly, the royal said she hoped the Golden Globe winner would work on a TV series, and praised Bridgerton lead Daphne (played by Phoebe Dynevor) for her strong voice, adding that she hopes future series of the regency romp will film at Sunnnghill Park, where she first lived after marrying Prince Andrew.
Fergie, who is currently in lockdown with her ex-husband at the Royal Lodge in Windsor also said she ‘loved the Crown’ despite the show’s controversial portrayal of the Windsor dynasty.
Sarah Ferguson has revealed she wants to ask Shonda Rhimes to adapt her upcoming Mills & Boon novel into a TV series after binge watching the producer’s latest series Bridgerton twice and becoming ‘obsessed with it’.
Speaking to Us Weekly , the royal praised the lead character Daphne (played by Phoebe Dynevor, left, Rege Jean Page as Simon Basset, right) for her strong voice and that she hopes future series of Brigerton will film at Sunnnghill Park, where she first lived after marrying Prince Andrew.
‘The way [producer] Betsy Beers and Shonda Rhimes have created Bridgerton is fabulous and I was really impressed. … I definitely will be talking to Shondaland about making Her Heart for a Compass into a TV series,’ she said.
‘I hear they might be making future series at Sunninghill Park for the next five years, which is my old home.’
Despite the unflattering portrayal of her mother-in-law and ex-husband’s family, Fergie also heaped on praised for The Crown.
‘I thought it was filmed beautifully. The cinematography was excellent,’ she told the US magazine. ‘I loved the way they put my wedding in as well.’
Is the Heart of Compass the next Bridgerton? Sarah Ferguson says she wants acclaimed producer Shonda Rhimes (right) to adapt her upcoming novel (cover, left) for TV
Whilst the Duchess of York has written many bestselling children’s books and several works of non-fiction, Her Heart for A Compass, which will be published on 3rd August, is her first historical fiction novel aimed at adults.
It is described as an ‘immersive historical saga’ that ‘sweeps the reader from the drawing rooms of Victoria’s court and the grand country houses of Scotland and Ireland, to the slums of London and the mercantile bustle of 1870s New York’.
‘It all started with researching my ancestry,’ the royal explained. ‘Digging into the history of the Montagu-Douglas Scotts, I first came across Lady Margaret, who intrigued me because she shared one of my given names.
Sarah Ferguson (pictured), 61, told how she ‘invented a history’ for Lady Margaret Montagu Douglas Scott that ‘incorporated real people and events’
‘But although her parents, the Duke and Duchess of Buccleuch were close friends with Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, I was unable to discover much about my namesake’s early life, and so was born the idea which became Her Heart for a Compass.
‘With real historical events and facts to hand, my imagination took over. I invented a history for her that incorporated real people and events, including some of my other ancestors.
‘I created a friendship between my heroine and Princess Louise, Queen Victoria’s sixth child, and I drew on many parallels from my life for Lady Margaret’s journey.
A picture of the Duchess’s ancestor, Lady Margaret Montagu Douglas Scott, on whom the novel is based
The Duchess joined forces with her ‘collaborator and mentor,’ Marguerite Kaye – who has written more than 50 novels for Mills & Boon set across the ages and her books and novellas have sold more than 1.5 million copies in over 20 countries.
Mills & Boon – the UK’s number one publisher of romantic fiction – was established in 1908.
Shona Rhimes, is best known for her work on gripping US dramas, including Grey’s Anatomy, How To Get Away With Murder and Scandal.
The duchess, who has previously written her memoirs, is the author of numerous children’s books including the Little Red and Budgie the Little Helicopter series, and she was an executive producer of the 2009 historical film The Young Victoria.