Queen of Heaven opens with the conclusion of an agreeable evening’s feast at the home of Titus (Edward Jewesbery) and Lollia (Isabel Dean). They appear to be the ideal hosts as their guests – including Claudius and Agrippina – seem to have enjoyed themselves.

But the laughter quickly dissipates after Lollia begins to tell a story, concerning Tiberius’ debauched tastes. “I was there subjected to acts of such abominable filth, to bestial obscenities with him and his slaves of both sexes …”

This scene (running for nearly seven minutes) is a fine showcase for Isabel Dean’s histrionic talents (yes, you can argue that she goes a little over the top, but this theatrical intensity was probably the right choice). A shamed Lollia can see no other way out than to take her own life – which she does with a knife in full view of her shocked husband and guests. Clearly she’s one for the grand gesture …

Although sex is the motor that drives a great deal of I Claudius, it’s remarkable how coy the serial was in depicting it. So although we hear several times about Tiberius’ depravities, they’re never actually shown. This might have been a masterstroke, as the imagination is then left to conjure up the worst of images (more prosaically, the production may also have had one eye on overseas – especially American – sales, where any form of nudity wouldn’t have been appreciated).

Caligula has now grown into the figure of John Hurt. Complete with a yellow wig, the 36 year old Hurt (playing Caligula aged approximately 18) is clearly having a ball right from the start. Whether it’s chuckling with Tiberius over a new mucky book (well, mucky scroll) or subjecting his great-grandmother Livia to a lengthy and highly inappropriate kiss, Hurt always catches the eye.

Sejanus also moves into the forefront today. He’s able to convince a pliant Claudius to divorce his wife and marry Sejanus’ sister. Both Antonia and Agrippina denounce him for this, but Herod is more forgiving (or simply more farsighted). He alone understands that had Claudius refused, his life expectancy would have been on the very short side. So as he’s always done, Claudius simply bends with the wind and lives to fight another day.

As for Sejanus, apart from playing cupid for Claudius and his sister, he’s also deep into an affair with the predatory Livilla. This means it’s curtains for the affable, but weak-willed Castor. Kevin McNally bows out after Livilla and Sejanus decide to poison Castor.

As in the previous episode, Livia is depicted as a powerless and rather forgotten character. Almost literally bumping into Tiberius in the forum (as their two chairs meet) she berates him for his lack of attention and peevishly reminds him about her upcoming birthday!

As her son offers no succor and Caligula only fleeting entertainment, it’s Claudius who turns out to be her confidant in the last months of her life. That’s possibly not surprising – her choice being somewhat limited due to her habit of poisoning almost anything that moves …

She cuts a tragic figure when pleading with Claudius to get Caligula (who she’s convinced will be the next Emperor) to make her a goddess (in order  that she won’t suffer eternal damnation). You feel that she’s partly manipulating him, but her sense of terror also seems genuine.

I love the matter of fact way Livia agrees to tell him about her list of crimes (Claudius, as a historian, is keen to have an accurate record). There’s also a few titbits for the viewer as well (we learn for the first time that she poisoned Marcus Agrippa). As with the death of Augustus in episode four, the approaching demise of Livia will leave a large hole.

So a doff of the cap to Siân Phillips. It can’t have been easy for her in the last few episodes, thanks to the heavy old-age make-up she had to wear, but like Augustus her exit is a memorable one. Virtually immobile in her sickbed, she’s first visited by Caligula, who shatters any hopes she had of becoming a goddess. “What makes you think that a filthy, smelly old woman like you could become a goddess? I don’t need you anymore, you see, great grandmother. My secret will die with you. You are going to stew in hell forever and ever”.

It’s left to Claudius, alone with her when she dies, to offer whatever comfort he can. The tears in his eyes at her passing sits awkwardly with the remembrance of the aged Claudius at the conclusion of Poison is Queen (where he violently despised her) bur this suggests the way feelings and memories can fluctuate. In this episode Claudius reacts with calm disinterest at Livia’s catalogue of crimes – a far cry from how he recalls them at the end of his life.