'Looking beautiful' - Jenna Coleman threatens to break the internet by unveiling new blonde hair

Victoria star Jenna Coleman has sent shockwaves across Instagram by revealing her new blonde hairdo.

The 31-year-old Victoria actress took the makeup-free selfie from a flight to Melbourne, Australia, and looked slightly anxious as she sported a cashmere striped jumper from Madeleine Thompson and a pair of headphones around her neck.

But what got some of her 708,000 followers in a spin was her fresh flaxen hairdo after years of being a glossy brunette.

The Blackpool-born star captioned the shot: "Downunder #TheCry," which was met with thousand of likes in mere minutes and hundreds of comments.

One person commented: "Looking beautiful xxxx." While someone else said: "Oooh not sure about the blonde. But still beautiful. Enjoy the filming."

As a third put: "OMG, love the hair!!!"

Coleman – who is dating her Victoria co-star Tom Hughes – will star in BBC1's The Cry as the mother of an abducted baby.

The psychological thriller will be broadcast in four episodes, each lasting 60 minutes, and is based on the 2013 novel of the same name by Helen FitzGerald. Former Emmerdale star Coleman will star alongside Australian actor Ewen Leslie.

The Cry is expected to air later this year but an exact date is yet to be revealed as filming gets underway in Melbourne and Glasgow.

Coleman has said she was hooked on Jacquelin Perske's scripts for the drama, stating: "It felt like walking a tightrope, racing page to page, ­unsettling, unknowable, and thrilling."

The actress, who was romantically linked to Prince Harry in 2015, has had much success since her soapstar days, winning critical acclaim for her role as Queen Victoria in the ITV series, and was praised for her performance as Lindsay James in BBC school-based drama series Waterloo Road.