Da Vinci's Demons: brief Telegraph interview

The Telegraph shared a brief interview with Tom at last week's Bafta rising stars party, held at the Savoy in London. 

When one thinks of Leonardo Da Vinci, rippling muscles are not the first thing that spring to mind.

Still, Tom Riley, 30, who is to play the Renaissance painter in a BBC drama called Da Vinci’s Demons, is putting himself through a gruelling fitness regime. He tells me at an Esquire party at the Savoy: “It will be a bit like the Robert Downey Jr version of Sherlock Holmes. So that’s why I’m expected to be in really good shape.”

The Genesis Foundation posted about Tom's brilliant casting news on their website, and shared this photo of him. 

Monroe 2 titbits and a bigger Bafta Rising Stars photo

A hi-res photo of Tom attending Tuesday night's Bafta Rising Stars party has been added to Tom's IMDb page. Click on IMDb to see a bigger version. More background to the event is on this website, while All Saints tweeted about Tom's outfit for the evening.

Held in the intimate Beaufort Bar in the Savoy Hotel, the event was held to celebrate ‘film’s rising stars’ and was attended by a raft of acting and directing talent as well as BAFTA Award nominees and film industry figures. Attendees included Orange Wednesdays Rising Star Award nominees Tom Hiddleston and Adam Deacon along with War Horse actor Jeremy Irvine, fashion designer Matthew Williamson, model David Gandy, director Dexter Fletcher and actors Harry Treadaway and Tom Riley. More than 100 guests were treated to magnums of Champagne Taittinger, cocktails and canapés roasted pork belly with black cherry, mini steak and ale pie and spicy white tuna.

The Bradford Telegraph and Argus posted a short article about another new cast member and mentions Monroe returning in the spring, but this hasn't been mentioned anywhere else. 

Seven-year-old Siena Afsar has landed a role in a TV medical drama. The Bradford schoolgirl will appear in the new series of Monroe, starring James Nesbitt as a neurosurgeon. Filmed in Leeds, the drama is set to return to ITV this spring.

Christina Chong tweeted a photo from the set this morning of herself, with Sarah Parish and producer David Moore, who directed 3 episodes of series 1. 

Bafta Rising Stars party

Tom attended the Bafta rising stars party, hosted by Orange and Esquire at The Savoy Hotel in London on 7th February 2012. Getty Images and Wire Image have uploaded 3 lovely photos of him, while Rex Features have another.

Monroe 2 & Da Vinci's Demons updates

Photographer John Wright, who took the gorgeous photos for the November 2011 edition of GQ, has uploaded a large, unmarked version of this photo to his website. Click on 'faces' and scroll along to see it. He also uploaded a clip of the photoshoot to You Tube.

While Monroe 2 continues filming, it seems there is a new director on board - Damon Thomas. According to Twitter, Monroe will be entered into this year's Rose d'Or Festival.

@ITV is taking part in this years festival "monroe" itv.co/hlW4t7 in the category #series #RDO12

— Rose d'Or Festival (@therosedor) January 25, 2012

Tom's amazing casting news seemed to explode over the internet in the last couple of days. Articles mentioning Da Vinci's Demons can be found on all the major online news and entertainment sites, including Reuters, Variety, EW, and Deadline.com.