The BBC's incoming director general wants to use dramas such as Wolf Hall and The White Queen to make the corporation an international cultural beacon for the UK. Lord Hall, the outgoing chief executive of the Royal Opera House, takes up his new role on 2 April. The BBC's controller of drama commissioning Ben Stephenson, who has met Hall twice since the latter's appointment in November, said he talked about the BBC's "cultural legacy and impact". Stephenson added that they had also talked about "What does that mean and what does it mean as an international broadcaster in the modern age, but crucially without losing our values. It's exporting what we are, the Danny Boyle philosophy of Britain exporting what we are to the world and the world will come, rather than pretending, dressing up in the clothes of Hollywood."
He added: "The two conversations I have had with Lord Hall have emphasised the point that we are a cultural organisation, we are there to aim higher, which doesn't mean being niche. It just means being incredibly ambitious for our audience." Janet McTeer will star in BBC1's 10-part adaptation of Philippa Gregory's The White Queen, while Elisabeth Moss will appear in Jane Campion's six-part BBC2 drama, Top of the Lake. Hilary Mantel's Booker prize-winning Wolf Hall is being adapted for BBC2.
Stephenson said it would be Hall's job to unveil his vision for the BBC when he arrives in April. "He has run the Royal Opera House in the most inspiring way – he has made it higher quality than ever, more accessible than ever, varied and interesting with a mixture of traditional and modern. I think all of those elements will be what we aim for," he added. "The other thing we have talked about is its role as an international cultural organisation. In some ways the word international for television drama is a dirty word – it suggests co-productions where the budget comes first. But one of the things we talked about is when you have Elisabeth Moss in a drama or you work with Jane Campion or Idris Elba comes back from America to make a drama [BBC1's Luther] it makes us feel more confident and excited that the BBC is offering something different and special."
Hall's ambition to reinforce the BBC's international role and reputation echoes the sentiments of The Thick of It creator Armando Iannucci's Bafta lecture last year, albeit in rather different language. Iannucci said TV executives had to be "more aggressive in promoting what makes British TV so good. Be ambitious, arrogant even, in how we sell it to the world. The BBC brand is up there with Apple and Google, I want it to go abroad and prostitute itself to blue buggery in how it sells and makes money from its content." Stephenson added: "I think we are sometimes a bit shy. I think we should be out there. The truth is when we go to America they talk about how great they are, but they talk about how great the drama is coming from the UK. Generally that means – not on all occasions – generally that means from the BBC and the world is jealous of what the BBC has. We can hold our heads up high and be even more ambitious."
Stephenson, who unveiled a new BBC drama slate on Monday night featuring a new Saturday teatime fantasy, Atlantis, and adaptation of PD James's Death Comes to Pemberley and a 3D anniversary special of Doctor Who, said he would not be leaving the BBC to fill the vacant drama chief slot at ITV. "I am not going to ITV, I am very happy here," said Stephenson, who has been touted as a future channel controller, possibly of BBC1, if incumbent Danny Cohen gets the vacant BBC director of vision job. "I have no idea what I will do next. I have been doing this job for four years but it is only three years of drama on screen. It takes a long time to make drama. I love it, I have got no plans."
Set against the iconic backdrop of the War of the Roses, The White Queen is a major new ten-hour adaptation of Philippa Gregory‘s vivid bestselling historical novel series The Cousin’s War, as is very much the shining jewel in BBC One's crown. It is the thrilling story of the women caught up in the ongoing conflict for the throne – they are some of the most ruthless players in history and will stop at nothing to support their own causes and those of the ones they love. The White Queen is described as a "stunningly rich tale of love and loss, seduction and deception, betrayal and murder, vibrantly woven through the stories of three different yet equally driven women, in their quest for power as they manipulate behind the scenes of history – Elizabeth Woodville, Margaret Beaufort and Anne Neville."
The year is 1464 and England has been at war for nine years battling over who is the rightful King of England – it is a war between two sides of the same family, The House of York and The House of Lancaster. The House of York’s young and devilishly handsome Edward IV (Max Irons - Red Riding Hood) is crowned King of England with the help of the master manipulator Lord Warwick "The Kingmaker" (James Frain - True Blood, The Tudors). But when Edward falls in love and secretly marries a beautiful young widow, the commoner Elizabeth Woodville, introducing the actress Rebecca Ferguson, Warwick’s plan for control over the English throne comes crashing down around him. Frustrated by the new Queen’s influence he will stop at nothing to maintain his grip on the King.
The most beautiful woman in the land, Elizabeth Woodville marries for the love of her King, with the help of her mother Jacquetta (Academy & Tony award nominee Janet McTeer) a self proclaimed sorceress. Elizabeth’s most fierce adversary is the staunchly loyal Lancastrian Margaret Beaufort (Amanda Hale – The Crimson Petal & The White) – a damaged and highly religious woman who would willingly lay down her life to see her young son Henry Tudor take the throne. And then there is Anne Neville (introducing Faye Marsay), Lord Warwick The Kingmaker’s daughter - a pawn in her father’s battle for control; who finds her strength and ambition when she takes control of her destiny and marries the King’s younger brother Richard Duke of Gloucester (Aneurin Bernard - Ironclad, Spring Awakening).
The White Queen is made by Company Pictures (The Village, The Devil’s Whore, Einstein and Eddington, Elizabeth l, Anna Karenina, Shameless) and adapted by acclaimed writer Emma Frost (Consuming Passions, Shameless). The series is produced by Gina Cronk (New Tricks, The Palace) and directed by James Kent (Inside Men, Marchlands). Filmed on location in Bruges, it will broadcast on BBC One this year. Stephenson, says: "One of the most ambitious series the BBC has made, this 10-part series is an epic drama that makes real history as gripping as the best fiction, featuring a cast of extraordinary new talent and some of our finest actors."
Equally ambitious is The Village, an epic drama series for BBC One starring Maxine Peake and John Simm, charting the life and turbulent times of one English village across the whole of the 20th century. The Village is written by Bafta-winning writer Peter Moffat. The camera never leaves the village. Births, deaths, love and betrayal, great political events, upheavals in national identity, ways of working, rules kept and rebellions made, sex, religion, class, the shaping of modern memory – all refracted through the lives of the villagers and the village. One man, Bert Middleton lives across the entire hundred years and his life story from boyhood to extreme old age provides the narrative backbone. His last great act of remembering is our way in to an examination of our recent past.
The series begins in 1914. Young Bert Middleton (introducing Bill Jones) is growing up in extreme poverty on a family farm in Derbyshire. His parents John (John Simm – State of Play, The Devil’s Whore) and Grace (Maxine Peake – Silk, Criminal Justice, Shameless) struggle to provide for Bert and his adored older brother Joe (Nico Mirallegro – My Fat Mad Teenage Diary, Upstairs Downstairs). John is proud, unyielding and haunted by his past. Grace devotes her life to protecting her sons from the violence of his despair. Is her sacrifice sustainable? Is John capable of redemption? Will Bert’s funny, gentle ways and rich imagination survive? Joe supplements the family income by working at the Big House, where he comes into contact with the troubled and deeply unstable Caro (Emily Beecham – The Runaway).
The first episode opens with the arrival of the first bus ever to stop in the village. Everyone gathers to see it and off the bus steps the beautiful, headstrong Martha Lane (Charlie Murphy - Misfits, Love Hate). Bert Middleton’s world will never be the same again. Jim Cartwright (writer of Road and The Rise and Fall of Little Voice) plays Peter Baslow, the Landlord of the village pub. Other cast includes: Anthony Flanagan (Being Human), Annabelle Apsion (Shameless), Joe Armstrong (Robin Hood), Matt Stokoe (Misfits), Augustus Prew (The Borgias) and Stephen Walters (The 51st State). John Simm says: "I’m delighted to be working with such a great director (Antonia Bird) and brilliant writer in Peter - I've long been a fan of both, alongside such a great cast". Maxine Peake added: "Beautiful writing - a period piece when we're not focusing on the decision makers but the working people, it is so great to see the other side - changes within a chain of social and political life, in minutiae. My character, Grace channels all her energy into her family with a focus on ambition and the idea of freedom for her sons. Women moving into the workplace as the men went to fight and finding independence."
Talking of epic family sagas, Peaky Blinders, BBC Two’s new gangster drama, has already started shooting in Birmingham, Leeds and Liverpool. The cast includes Cillian Murphy (Inception), Sam Neill (Jurassic Park), Helen McCrory (Harry Potter), Annabelle Wallis (The Tudors), Iddo Goldberg (Secret Diary Of A Call Girl) and Charlie Creed-Miles (Wild Bill). Series creator Steven Knight (Dirty Pretty Things, Eastern Promises) commented: "The story I want to tell is based on family legend and historical fact. It is a fiction woven into a factual landscape which is breathtakingly dramatic and cinematic, but which for very English reasons has been consigned to historical text books." Stephenson, added: "Building on BBC Two's reputation for world-class drama, Peaky Blinders is a phenomenally authored drama series shedding light on a piece of hidden British history. Authentic, bloody and utterly compelling, Peaky Blinders welcomes Steven Knight and Otto Bathurst to BBC Two and adds another boldly crafted drama to our roster of upcoming shows."
The official synopsis reads: "The story begins in 1919 in the lawless slum neighbourhoods of post war Birmingham. Returning soldiers, newly-minted revolutionaries and criminal gangs all fight for survival in an industrial landscape gripped by economic upheaval. Guns smuggled home from the trenches find their way onto the streets and become lethal currency. Communists don't just dream of revolution - they are planning for it and the Government is expecting it. As Churchill mobilizes his Special Branch forces, illegal bookmakers make fortunes in speak-easy betting shops and traumatised infantrymen drink away their shell-shock in riotous ale houses. There is still a gentler city at the fringes, where gypsies and canal boatmen deal horses and tell fortunes but sitting at the top of this industrial jungle are the extended Shelby family, whose many brothers and sisters, cousins and uncles, make up the fiercest gang of all, the 'Peaky Blinders'. Named for their practise of sewing razor blades into the peaks of their caps, the Peaky Blinders make their money from off track betting, protection and robbery.
"Their boss Tommy Shelby (Murphy) is the most ruthless brother of them all, but his leadership is about to be put to the test. A ruthless new Police Chief C.I. Campbell (Neill) arrives in town from Belfast to clean up the city and, perhaps more lethally, a beautiful woman Grace Burgess (Wallis) arrives in the neighbourhood with a mysterious past and a dangerous secret. McCrory plays Aunt Polly Gray, the Shelby family matriarch. Peaky Blinders is a dazzling picture of England which will blow away preconceptions even though the characters and events are taken directly from the pages of our secret history. They will now burst into life in a vibrant evocation of a hedonistic age where the clothes will be razor sharp, the music fast and the dancing outrageous. The real Peaky Blinders were a scandal and this fiction will be the same. The Shelbys will be a family not to be taken lightly."
Elsewhere, Hilary Mantel's Booker prize-winning Wolf Hall and its follow-up Bring Up The Bodies are to be brought to television in a six-hour adaptation for BBC2. The TV version of the acclaimed 2009 novel and its sequel, expected to be broadcast in late 2013, is to be adapted by Peter Straughan, who wrote the screenplay for the recent Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy movie. Wolf Hall is a fictional biography set in the first half of the 16th century, charting the rise to power of Thomas Cromwell in the court of Henry VIII. Cromwell was involved in arranging Henry's divorce from Catherine of Aragon and his marriage to Anne Boleyn, and the English church's break with Rome and the dissolution of the monasteries. He later fell out with Henry and was executed. The second novel, Bring Up the Bodies, focuses on Anne Boleyn, whilst the third book, The Mirror & the Light, will see Cromwell's story through until his execution in 1540 and could be filmed as a stand alone series at a later date.
The TV adaptation is being developed by Company Pictures, the UK independent producer behind Shameless, Skins and The Shadow Line, and Playground Entertainment, the US company set up by former HBO Films president Colin Callender. Stressing the channel's commitment to drama in the face of cuts that from the new year will ravage the daytime schedule, BBC2 controller Janice Hadlow – who named Wolf Hall as among her favourite books of recent years – said the novels were "right in the cross hairs" of what BBC2 viewers will enjoy. "I think there is a cumulative, mounting hunger for the [dramas] that we do," said Hadlow. "That doesn't mean that all of them will be massive audience drivers but I think what drama injects into the channel is of such value … something so powerful that you'd want to protect that at all costs."
Talking of cherished things, Doctor Who will celebrate its half centenary with a special birthday edition on 23 November, exactly 50 years after its first ever adventure, An Unearthly Child, starring William Hartnell in the title role. Viewers will be able to see the 3D version on the BBC HD channel. Stephenson said the anniversary of the time-travelling show would be a national event and compared it to the Queen's diamond jubilee and the Olympics. Doctor Who's executive producer and lead writer, Steven Moffat, said: "It's about time. Technology has finally caught up with Doctor Who and your television is now bigger on the inside. A whole new dimension of adventure for the Doctor to explore."
Stephenson revealed further details of the 50th-anniversary show when explianing: "It's a nationwide celebration of both Doctor Who and the BBC because I think they are so synonymous. We will be doing a big Doctor Who special in 3D which is very exciting and feels very innovative. We will be doing it on cinema screens as well. We are working out the logistics of that at the moment because we need to make sure the main BBC1 experience remains absolute value for money for the audience." There has been no shortage of speculation about the content of the 50th-birthday show, and whether it will see a reunion of previous doctors. Tom Baker memorably declined to appear in the 20th-anniversary special, the Five Doctors, and three of the 11 actors to have played the role are now dead.
Moffat is still working on the script for the show which will be filmed, like most of the series, in south Wales, and will follow an eight-part run of Doctor Who. Stephenson said: "There will be lots of aliens and daleks and things like that – or maybe there won't. There are many different things to take into account and we will also have a Christmas special after that and it all connects. Or maybe it doesn't. There's lots to work out. It's that thing of, how do you make individual programmes more than the sum of their parts? The Doctor Who 50th is a bit like when we did EastEnders' 25th; it is more than just a programme, we have all had a relationship to it. Ninety per cent of the British public know about Doctor Who and have a personal connection to it. Most people have their own Doctor Who. It's drawing on that nostalgia to say something bigger about the BBC and its values."
The BBC will also mark the event with a BBC2 drama about the beginnings of the show, An Adventure in Space and Time, scripted by Mark Gattis and featuring David Bradley as the late Hartnell. The corporation is no stranger to the big screen through its film-making arm, BBC Films, but it is unusual if not unprecedented for TV shows to be given a cinema release – natural history epic The Blue Planet among them. It is not the first BBC drama to be filmed in 3D – that honour goes to its Christmas adaptation of David Walliams' children's book, Mr Stink – but it will be the biggest, said Stephenson.
New Saturday teatime drama Atlantis will air in the Autumn slot previously occupied by another BBC1 drama, Merlin, which was axed last year. Filming in Morocco and Wales throughout April, the Greek myth family adventure show is written by Howard Overman, who created E4's Misfits, and is shaping up to be a depository of Greek legend patted into shape for family viewing. So that’ll be less focus on the baby-eating and swan-rape then, and more wholesome derring-do, we'd have imagined. The thirteen episodes will follow our hero Jason (though whether this is pre or mid-Argo, or indeed, if he’s even the same fleece-seeking sailor is yet to be confirmed) as he reaches the titular lost city, a "strange, compelling realm" peopled by "snake-haired goddesses and palaces so vast it was said they were built by giants". Naturally, his arrival in Atlantis kick-starts "an amazing adventure, bringing into life the vast store of Greek myths and legends re-imagined for a new generation" in the action-packed series.
The arrival of Atlantis will go some way to mollifying those who feared the demise of populist cult television on the BBC following the untimely axing of both Merlin and Being Human after respective five season runs. The latter was by far the rawest wound and creatively a baffling decision given Toby Whithouse's paranormal drama went to great lengths to reinvent itself last year; with the Hal / Tom / Alex dynamic feeling like a very different series to the one that premiered in 2009. One can only imagine then that the decision has been taken on a purely business level; Whithouse likely has a desire to move on to new projects - he's penned new Cold War spy thriller The Game for BBC One - and Being Human's current ratings, while solid, are not stellar. Elsewhere, while The Fades faded away, BBC Three isn't giving up on the sci-fi / fantasy / horror genre either - new zombie drama In The Flesh started shooting last October and will hit our screens later this year.
Whithouse's The Game is a Cold War spy thriller set in the secretive world of 1970s espionage. It will tell the story of the invisible war fought by MI5 as they battle to protect the nation from the threats of the era. When a KGB defector reveals the existence of a devastating Soviet plot, the charismatic but paranoid head of MI5 assembles a secret team to investigate. Each of the six hour-long episodes will see the team uncover a new traitor to investigate, another piece of the jigsaw and another mission into the unknown. With Cold War tensions at a terrifying peak, how far are they prepared to go to keep ahead of the great game?
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell is a 6 episode fantasy drama set during the Napoleonic Wars in an England where magic once existed and is about to return in the guise of Gilbert Norrell and Jonathan Strange. Centring on the relationship between these two men, the story investigates the nature of "Englishness" and the boundaries between reason and unreason, Anglo-Saxon and Anglo-Dane, and Northern and Southern English cultural tropes/stereotypes. As well as telling the story of their rivalry, it also details an amazing alternate history where the North of England was the dominion of a magical overlord known as the Raven King, and pulls in many notable historical characters along the way. Based on the sweeping bestselling novel by Susanna Clarke and adapted by Peter Harness (Wallander), it is being produced by Cuba (the production division of leading literary and talent agency Curtis Brown) in association with Feel Film and Farmoor.
The 7.39 is a two-part romantic drama from One Day writer David Nicholls. It follows Sally and Carl, who begin talking after fighting for a seat on their morning commute and suddenly their daily train journey becomes a lot more interesting. Relatively happy in their home lives, they are, however, drawn to each other, and as their friendship grows to flirtation they refuse to admit – to each other or themselves – that a line might be crossed. The consequences of discovery will be life-changing, catastrophic perhaps, and yet they can’t help falling in love. The serial is being produced by NBCUniversal’s Carnival Films (the production company behind ITV1′s Downton Abbey) with Sally Woodward Gentle and Polly Hill serving as executive producers.
Other new BBC1 dramas will include Breakdown, a thriller written by Jack Williams and Harry Williams, about a man whose son is snatched while on holiday in France. Tony’s exhaustive search fractures his marriage and destroys his life. Exploring the emotional cost of hope and finding when to let go, this relationship thriller shows the impact of a child’s abduction. The gripping and high-octane Interceptor is from Tony Saint, and tells the story of a top secret law enforcement team whose unswerving mission is to hunt down Britain's most dangerous and ruthless criminals. "We’ve got some brilliant pieces to come out on BBC1," enthuses Stephenson, including "these two eight-part series from writers with their first ever series commission."
BBC1 will also screen Death Comes To Pemberley, a three-part adaptation of PD James's homage to Jane Austen in the 200th anniversary year of Pride and Prejudice, written by Juliette Towhidi (Calendar Girls). Set six years after Pride & Prejudice ends, the show centres around a murder mystery plot involving Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy by the time the characters already have two children. Elizabeth's sister Lydia bursts into their marital home with news that her husband, the devious George Wickham, has been killed. Ben Stephenson, said: "There are certain characters from a book who go way, way beyond the page. Mr Darcy is absolutely one of them. He is the iconic romantic lead - brooding and intense. The very name 'Darcy' has come to mean something beyond Pride and Prejudice alone. We’re currently starting to think about who plays Mr Darcy, and I've had lots of suggestions." Actresses being considered to play the role of Elizabeth include Felicity Jones, from the BBC drama The Diary of Anne Frank, and - controversially - Claire Danes, of U.S. show Homeland. Producer of Death Comes to Pemberley, David Thompson said: "Yes, she's American, but of course she can do British. She is married to a Brit, Hugh Dancy, Imagine the two of them together in the new TV series as husband and wife."
Filming for the three-part drama is set to start in the summer. The project is being made by Origin Pictures, as is a three-part adaptation of Daphne du Maurier's Jamaica Inn written by Emma Frost, who recently worked on The White Queen. The rum tale of romance, ripping bodices and roguery is set in 1820 and follows the fortunes of newly orphaned Mary Yellan, who arrives by carriage at Jamaica Inn, just west of Launceston, hoping to find solace with her Aunt Patience. But she soon discovers that behind its benign exterior, the hostelry is merely a front for a gang of cut-throats led by landlord Joss Merlyn and his thieving younger brother, Jem. From there, du Maurier's gothic tale of love and loss unfolds. "It is a book that I have loved for years and not been able to get the rights to," says the controller of drama commissioning. Origin Pictures, whose hits to date include Hidden and The Awakening, said the three-parter is likely to be screened around Christmas.
Due about the same time is Remember Me, a strange and frightening tale by Gwyneth Hughes (Five Days, The Girl). It is a three-part serial made by Mammoth Screen and described by Stephenson as "a fantastic ghost story," that concerns a frail old Yorkshireman who becomes the sole witness to a violent death while moving into residential care. His teenage care assistant tries to unravel the riddle of his strange and secretive life, and is drawn into an eerie and dangerous world of lost love and betrayal.
It joins several dramas already commissioned by the Beeb from last year; including Dorking-filmed Mayday, a sophisticated five-part thriller from writers Ben Court and Caroline Ip (Whitechapel). When a young girl goes missing on her way to the Mayday parade, the small community in which she lives looks to one another for answers. But beneath the picture-postcard idyll lies a sinister other world and the dark woods teem with myth. As the community reels from Hattie’s disappearance, the drama follows the mass hysteria and ensuing search from the point of view of the central characters, each of whom fears that someone they know is responsible. As they keep silent, their suspicions intensify over the course of the five episodes. Sophie Okonedo plays Fiona, a young mum determined to protect her family, who spies on a neighbour. She’s married to Alan, played by Peter McDonald. Peter Firth plays Malcolm, a community leader married to Gail, played by Lesley Manville. Aidan Gillen plays Everett, a single father to the sensitive Linus (Max Fowler) who has fallen in love with Hattie’s twin sister Caitlin (Leila Mimmack) - who can feel it in her bones that her sister is dead. Jane Featherstone, Chief Executive, Kudos Film and Television describes Mayday: "A highly authored serial which has attracted a brilliant cast and takes an original look at a familiar story. There are no police incident rooms, autopsies or crime scene investigations, instead this is about a town facing the reality that the killer is among them, one of them."
As previously reported, Eve Myles (Torchwood, Baker Boys) will play the title role in Frankie, a new six-part series created and written by Lucy Gannon (The Best Of Men, Soldier Soldier) and produced by BBC Drama Production for a Spring transmission. Frankie is a modern and redemptive take on the life and work of a dedicated district nurse whose patients matter more to her than her personal life. A heroine for the modern age, Frankie Maddox looks life and death in the eye; her mission is to make a difference. She cares about her patients and their families but never turns into a busybody, knowing that, at the end, what everyone wants is a calm friend who is on the side of the patient not the institution.
Filmed and set in Bristol, the series follows Frankie and her team as they visit their patients at home, and takes a look at ordinary lives which are often in huge domestic crises. The nurses like their work, it may infuriate, frustrate and even bore them at times, but they turn up day in and day out and wouldn’t choose to do anything else. It is pitched as a "heart-warming, funny and aspirational series aiming to build up a portrayal of the challenging, complex and ultimately life affirming world of district nursing." Myles says: "This is an incredible leading part for a female. It’s tremendous pressure but also tremendously exciting. I can’t wait to step into Frankie’s shoes and get on set. I’m desperate to start. Frankie is an infectious character, she’s electric, quirky, wonderful at her job and adapts to every situation. She’s a vibrant woman trying to live life in the fast lane and juggle a job. Lucy Gannon is an incredible writer and writes relationships so beautifully." In firm agreement, Stephenson added: "Following the stunning performance of Lucy Gannon's BBC Two film The Best Of Men, Frankie is Lucy's new series for BBC One with all of the wit, heart and warmth that you expect from her truthful, life-like writing."
Lacey Turner (EastEnders, Bedlam, Switch) will star as Molly Dawes in Tony Grounds’ (Births Marriages & Deaths, Bodily Harm, Canterbury Tales) new 90 minute single drama Our Girl, directed by David Drury (The Take, Prime Suspect 3, The Paradise). It will be produced for the channel by BBC Drama Production. Our Girl is the story of Molly Dawes, the eldest of five kids with little future, a difficult father and a mother who always wanted more for her. Born and raised in the London Borough of Newham, it tells her story from nobody to a soldier in the Royal Army Medical Corps, to her final arrival in Afghanistan. Turner says: "I am so excited to be a part of Our Girl. It is a beautifully written drama of one girl's journey through life. Molly is such an interesting character who shows such strength and determination. She's a girl who you cannot help but love."
Leaving school with no qualifications, Molly has a part-time job in a local nail bar. Drunk and despondent on the evening of her 18th birthday, she throws up in the doorway of an Army Recruitment Office. She doesn’t know it then, but it’s an action that will change her life forever… Writer and Creator Tony Grounds comments: "This is a film about a female combatant, but she is also a daughter and a sister. Every soldier is a citizen first and we explore their choices that lead them to an Army Training Camp and how the ensuing months will change their lives forever." Controller of Drama Production and Executive Producer John Yorke adds: "I am delighted that Lacey Turner is returning to BBC One to play Molly Dawes, a character who is as colourful, unique and powerful as Stacey Slater was when she first arrived on the channel eight years ago. Tony's script poignantly explores Molly's journey into adulthood and the extraordinary sacrifices made by Molly and those recruited alongside her."
Over on BBC2 Gillian Anderson takes the lead as DSI Gibson in The Fall, a "gripping psychological thriller that forensically examines the lives of two hunters". One is a serial killer who stalks his victims at random in and around Belfast and the other is a talented female Detective Superintendent on secondment from the MET who is brought in to catch him. Produced by Artists Studio and written by Allan Cubitt (The Runaway, Murphy’s Law, Prime Suspect), the five episodes will follow the police investigation uncovering the intricate story of the lives entangled by a series of murders – both the killer's and the victims’ families. Cubitt says: "When I think of the really great television drama from my formative years I think first and foremost of their writers. I applaud wholeheartedly Artists Studio’s attempt – with the support of the BBC – to put the writer back at the heart – and head – of British TV drama."
On the same channel, David Hare returns with the second and third parts of his MI5 spy drama trilogy which began with Page Eight in 2011. After the death of the Head of the organization, Johnny Worricker, an intelligence officer, is aware of a plot to hand control of the organization directly over to the Prime Minister, Alec Beasley. The Emmy-winning film was seen on BBC Two and PBS, and starred Bill Nighy, Rachel Weisz, Ralph Fiennes, Judy Davis and Michael Gambon. The two new instalments, Turks and Caicos and Salting the Battlefield, will both star the returning Nighy.
In part two Worricker has walked out of his job at M15, going to the airport apparently to choose his destination at random. But his presence on the obscure islands of Turks and Caicos brings him a new problem: he is being forced by the CIA to deal with a group of ambiguous Americans who are on the islands for high-level conference on the world financial crisis. At the same time, an old girl-friend, Alison Tyrrell, is being asked to betray her boss in London in order to establish an illicit connection between the prime minister and dark goings-on in the war on terror. The final part sees Worricker and Tyrrell on the run across Europe, with M15 hard on their heels. But life in exile is proving much harder than either of them expected. Worricker knows that his only chance of resolving both his personal and his professional lives is if he returns home to confront the powerful prime minister, Beasley. In a duel of wits between the two men, there will be only one winner.
BBC4, which has had its drama budget axed as part of BBC cost-cutting, will go out with a bang with Dominic West and Helena Bonham Carter to star in Burton and Taylor, a 90-minute drama about Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor's 1983 revival of Noel Coward's stage play Private Lives. Penned by William Ivory, it is described as a drama about one of the most fascinating, glamorous and tempestuous relationships. "Slightly sad news, BBC4 will be ending its drama," admits Stephenson. "But we’ve had re-investment on BBC1 and on BBC2, so I thought we can more than make up for it with the ambition there. But we wanted to end it in spectacular fashion. BBC4 has been the home for the new generation of biopic. I felt it was absolutely right to end with that. So we are doing – and it is so exciting – a story that maybe you don’t know, which is after they were divorced…they toured New York in a production of Private Lives. Any of you will know it’s about a couple who are divorced. We’re very excited that we’ve got Helena Bonham Carter and Dominic West to play Burton And Taylor. Both of them have been on BBC4 before, so it feels like a wonderful end to the BBC4 drama story."
The new raft of commissions comes on the back of an announcement released in November concerning five other drama projects. Scott and Bailey creator Sally Wainwright is penning a new six-part series for BBC1 called Happy Valley which follows police officer Catherine Crowther as the sergeant on duty when flustered, nervous-looking accountant Colin Weatherill comes into her West Yorkshire police station to report a crime. He's reticent about the details and Colin loses his nerve. The crime he was trying to report was Colin's own brain-child, a plot to kidnap his boss's daughter and keep enough of the ransom to put his kids through private school. And now local drug king-pin David Cowgill has put the plan into action, and Colin's fantasy has become a grim and dangerous reality. The botched kidnapping of eccentric, angry Ann Gallagher and its fallout unfolds... Catherine is used to picking up the pieces of everyone else's lives but the hunt for Ann Gallagher will get right under her skin. Catherine becomes convinced that only by finding Ann alive and bringing her captors to justice can she avenge the death of her daughter." Made by Red Production Company, with Nicola Shindler as executive producer.
Meanwhile, the green-light has been given to new police drama series By Any Means. Produced by Red Planet Pictures – the independent production company behind BBC One’s Death In Paradise - the hour long drama series has been given a six episode order and follows a covert police department that, when the legal system fails, go to any lengths to bring the criminal elite to justice. Created by a writing team comprised of Hustle's Tony Jordan, Richard Zajdlic, James Payne, Jeff Povey and Richard Lazarus, By Any Means has been described as a "gritty police drama" which follows police officer Jack Quinn who runs a clandestine police department. Quinn’s shadowy and brilliant team will go about their business, exploiting weaknesses, weaving a web of cunning and deception that leads the unwary target into the arms of justice. Tony Jordan, Belinda Campbell and Poly Holl will executive produce. Casting for the series is currently underway, with production due to commence in 2013. Speaking of By Any Means, Executive Producer Belinda Campbell said: "By Any Means is a gripping crime drama wonderfully crafted by our talented writing team. With the action taking place on cusp of the law, it provides the perfect premise for dramatic scenes, surprise twists and turns in the plot, as well as brilliantly complex and rich characters."
Other commissions already confirmed for BBC1 include What Remains, a four-part serial by Inside Men writer Tony Basgallop and directed by Coky Giedroyc (The Hour, The Spies of Warsaw). It follows the story of Melissa Young, whose remains are discovered in the loft of a flat by its new inhabitants, Michael (Russell Tovey) and his heavily pregnant partner, Vidya. She has not been seen for over two years, hasn't been registered as missing and no one appears to have noticed she has gone... In his last week before retirement, Detective Inspecter Len Harper (David Threlfall) is called in to investigate a murder which, on the surface, appears to have no leads. But Harper refuses to allow Melissa's death to remain unsolved and sets out to investigate her neighbours, uncovering dark secrets that link each of them to the victim. Whether she was bullied, harrassed, in love with, or simply ignored, Melissa had a connection to her fellow inhabitants and was killed by someone close to home, but who was it? And is the killer still at large?
Following the announcement of the commission, writer Tony Gasgallop said: "The key to writing and casting What Remains has been in ensuring that we had the right chemistry between the characters. At its core this is an ensemble piece about the spaces we share, the compromises we make, and the unwritten rules of communal living. It's a whodunit, so we need to empathize with these characters whilst at the same time presenting them as suspects in a murder. No mean feat. Fortunately we've landed a cast with the quality and experience to pull the audience in any direction we choose to take them." What Remains is currently filming in London and will air on BBC1 later this year.
Elsewhere, filming began last month on The Escape Artist, a new legal thriller for BBC One. Created and written by David Wolstencroft (Spooks, Shooting Dogs), The Escape Artist stars David Tennant (Doctor Who, True Love), Toby Kebbell (RocknRolla, Black Mirror), Sophie Okonedo (The Slap, Criminal Justice), and Ashley Jensen (Extras, Ugly Betty). Tennant plays Will Burton, a talented junior barrister who specialises in spiriting people out of tight legal corners, hence his nickname of 'The Escape Artist'. Will is in high demand as he has never lost a case. But when his talents acquit the prime suspect in a horrific murder trial, that brilliance comes back to bite him with unexpected and chilling results. "The law often seems like an intellectual exercise", says Wolstencroft, "But scratch under the surface, and it’s all blood and guts. I wanted to write a thriller set in the legal world that’s as much about those primal feelings as it is about the twists and turns of the case. David Tennant is one of the most accomplished and iconic actors of his generation. I cannot wait to see him in Will's shoes."
Producer, Hilary Bevan Jones, says: "The outstanding cast we have assembled is a testament to David's breathtaking and original script. Directed by Brian Welsh and produced by Paul Frift, I believe The Escape Artist will be one of the most anticipated TV drama events of 2013." Executive producer for the BBC, Matthew Read, added: "After the incredible response we got for William Boyd’s Restless, it’s fantastic to be working with Hilary Bevan Jones and Endor again on an original drama that brings together the very best of British talent."
David Tennent will be also been seen in The Politician's Husband. He will star opposite Emily Watson in Paula Milne's three-part serial about marriage, power and politics. A bookend to the multi award winning The Politician's Wife, The Politician's Husband will be produced for BBC Two by Daybreak Pictures and directed by Simon Cellan Jones (Our Friends in the North, The Borgias, Boardwalk Empire). A highly authored, gripping drama that follows the shifting balance of power in a political marriage and the ensuing consequences when a wife becomes more successful than her husband. Writer and creator Milne (White Heat, Small Island, The Virgin Queen, The Fragile Heart) says: "It is said that all power corrupts but the power balance within a marriage can be unspoken and subtle whereas the power games in politics are more overt and manipulatory. The drama explores the personal realm of a political marriage played against the ruthless hubris of Westminster politics - and what can happen when those two realms collide."
Senior Cabinet Minister, Aiden Hoynes (Tennant), is happily married to Freya (Watson), a junior minister. When we meet Aiden he is a rising star in Westminster. He went into Parliament driven by idealism, but after his son Noah was diagnosed with Aspergers he allowed himself to be sucked into the power games of Westminster, which provided him with a place to hide. Stephenson adds: "Paula Milne returns to BBC Two with a fine piece of drama that manages to combine the political and domestic worlds so elegantly. It demonstrates the channel's continued commitment to original British drama." Freya Gardner (Watson), although equally able, has put the brakes on her own political career in order to provide stability for the family. But even as a Junior Minister, most recognize she is a political star in the making. David Aukin, Executive Producer and Creative Executive for Daybreak Pictures, adds: "We're delighted to be working again with Paula Milne who has delivered not only a cracking political thriller, but a forensic dissection of a modern marriage."
Bruce Babbish, played by Ed Stoppard (Upstairs Downstairs, Any Human Heart), is one of Aiden's closet friends. Bruce chose a political career, not out of ideology but because it suited his Machiavellian nature and lust for power and its trappings. For him the fun lies in the chase, in second guessing his opponents. Bruce is ambitious and even Aiden isn't immune from his friend's ruthless streak. The stellar cast also includes: Jack Shepherd (The Nativity, WyCliffe) as Aiden's Father Joe; Roger Allam (The Queen, The Thick of It) as Chief Whip Marcus Fitzwallace and Oscar Kennedy (Toast, Great Expectations, Hunted) as the Hoynes' son Noah. The drama has been shot on location in London.
Finally, The Great Train Robbery is a two-part serial that tells the story of the most infamous heist in British history. It will be broadcast to mark the 50th anniversary of the famous event and is being made by World Productions. Writer Chris Chibnall (Torchwood) and director James Strong (Doctor Who) will reunite on the project, having previously collaborated on BBC Two's acclaimed drama United. The first of the two 90-minute films, 'The Robbers’ Tale', tells the story of the gang whose audacious crime secured unheard of wealth and the wrath of the Establishment. The second film, 'The Coppers’ Tale', tells the story of Tommy Butler and the crack team of detectives he assembled in his relentless quest to bring the robbers to justice.
Speaking at the King’s Fund in Cavendish Square last night, Stephenson said: "I think that 2012 was the most successful year for BBC Drama this century. A bold statement. It is one that I believe – I would say that but I think I’ve got evidence. The passing of some wonderful series in 2011 and 2012 marked the end of an era. Danny (Danny Cohen, BBC1 Controller) and I needed to find the next generation of returning series. And whilst this hunt still continues, I’m really, really pleased that 2012 saw the arrival of six new series, all of which will be returning in 2013. And I hope for many, many, many years to come. From Call The Midwife to Last Tango In Halifax, these series prove that if you create a show with intelligence, love and authorship the audience will follow. It’s also good to note that four of those six series were created by female writers with only one of them a crime show. So I’m determined that the next few years follow suit. But we’re also going to introduce a rich new line of shows on to BBC1 with rich, real filmic scale, including epic dramas we’ve already announced, including the 10-part The White Queen, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrel and The Village, which I think take our ambition up to a new level."
Stephenson believes 2011 saw the beginning of BBC2’s drama really coming back to life. "I hope that 2012 proved why it really mattered," he said. "Janice (Hadlow, BBC2 Controller) and I were thrilled that Line of Duty, Parade’s End and The Hollow Crown, amongst many others, proved how much audiences had missed BBC Drama. And with Jane Campion, Wolf Hall and again many others still to come I hope this will be just the beginning. Last week it was very, very nice to see a first. Every single drama nomination at the BPG and the South Bank Awards were won by a BBC drama. I’d always rather have audiences over awards but nevertheless that was quite a nice moment and it means that I don’t have to worry quite so much about what wins. Drama and the BBC really are inseparable. It’s written through the BBC like a stick of rock. No other broadcaster in this world, I absolutely believe, has drama so firmly embedded deeply in its DNA. Knock down any BBC building and I can prove to you that at the heart of it is a writer sat in the ruins typing away."
Probably on shows like Call the Midwife, Death In Paradise, Ripper Street, The Syndicate, Prisoners’ Wives, Case Histories, George Gently and Luther; all have all been recommissioned for new episodes. "Of course we're bringing back – this was a hard decision for me – Call The Midwife. It’s had rotten ratings but we thought we’d give them another go. So we’re doing another eight-part series of that and a marvellous Christmas special," joked Stephenson about the wildly popular Sunday night juggernaut. "We’re also bringing back Death In Paradise again. A very, very easy decision considering it’s been getting eight million and I think is the highest midweek series on any channel for quite a long time. Adding that to the return of Ripper Street and that is every single show, every series we’ve launched so far this year coming back."
With ratings for the last series averaging 8.3 million and filming about to begin on series 10 with a two-part episode in Gibraltar, BBC One’s hit drama New Tricks also returns with the addition of Nicholas Lyndhurst as a new recruit to Detective Superintendent Sandra Pullman’s (Amanda Redman) team of retired ex-coppers reinvestigating the Met’s unsolved crimes. Lyndhurst’s career has spanned nearly 40 years in some of the Britain’s best-loved television shows, from Only Fools And Horses and Butterflies to David Copperfield, After You’ve Gone, Goodnight Sweetheart and Rock & Chips. "I am thrilled to have been asked to join New Tricks," he said. "I have always admired the clever mixture of charm, wit, and intelligence the show brings to its audience, and feel very flattered to be part of the BBC’s top drama series." Richard Burrell, Executive Producer, Wall to Wall, added: "We are very excited to have Nicholas joining the cast of New Tricks. I think that the audience are going to have great fun watching him as a new member of the anarchic UCOS team ensuring that solving cases for the Met is never dull. We can't wait to start working with him."
Similarly well advanced is the major Anglo-Irish co-production, Quirke. Based on the books by Benjamin Black (pseudonym of award-winning Irish writer John Banville), Quirke is a new series for BBC One adapted by screenwriters Andrew Davies and Conor McPherson and starring Gabriel Byrne in the title role. Quirke (we never get to know his Christian name) is the chief pathologist in the Dublin city morgue – a charismatic loner whose job takes him into unexpected places as he uncovers the secrets of sudden death in 1950s Dublin. It’s a rich and smouldering world along whose smoky streets and damp alleys Quirke goes from bars that glimmer with peat fires and whiskey to elegant Dublin houses brimming with sexual tension. It’s a time full of mystery, secrets and intrigue. Each episode will see him investigate the death of one of the unfortunate souls who end up on his mortuary slab. But as Quirke turns accidental detective he discovers his investigations are often more closely linked to his own life than he could ever have imagined. Little by little he is forced to confront the sins of his past as he peels back the layers of his own tangled family history.
The three feature-length episodes each take their stories from different books in the series, 'Christine Falls' and 'The Silver Swan' by Andrew Davies and 'Elegy for April' by Conor McPherson. Banville says: "I am very excited by the prospect of seeing my character Quirke incarnated by Gabriel Byrne, a perfect choice for the part. I know both Quirke and Benjamin Black will be wonderfully served by Andrew Davies and Conor McPherson, two masters of their craft." John McColgan, Founding Director, Tyrone Productions, adds: "As a friend and colleague of Gabriel Byrne over the years I am thrilled to see him bringing the brilliant, mercurial character of Quirke as created by John Banville to screens worldwide. BBC Drama has brought an incredible pool of writing talent to this project and I’m looking forward to seeing their scripts going into production." Additional casting announced includes: Judge Garret Griffin played by Michael Gambon, Malachy Griffin played by Nick Dunning, Sarah played by Geraldine Somerville, Rose played by Sara Stewart, Inspector Hackett, played by Stanley Townsend, Sinclair played by Brian Gleeson and Phoebe played by Aisling Franciosi.
Luther will be co-produced with BBC America, and will once again see Elba appear alongside Warren Brown (Justin Ripley), Dermot Crowley (Schenk), Nikki Amuka-Bird (Erin Gray) and Michael Smiley (Benny Silver). Series creator Neil Cross has also expressed his desire to produce both a Luther movie and a spinoff show featuring the character of Alice Morgan (Ruth Wilson) once the next series has aired. "I’m very excited Luther is about to come back," added Stephenson. "I’ve just seen episode one. I’ve literally never been so scared in my life. I actually screamed in the office. Idris is amazing. It is beyond frightening. And I’m also very pleased to announce that the very scary Ruth Wilson – she’s not scary in real life, she’s lovely in real life… but the character she played, Alice Morgan, will be back at some stage. She wears black gloves and she does very evil things."
Announcing the commissions, Stephenson said he wanted television drama to have the same affect on viewers as theatre does on its audiences. "When you go to the Royal Opera House or the National Theatre there is a buzz in the theatre before the curtain goes up. That buzz comes not just from what you are about to see but because the space, the history, the values of the place, add up to something extraordinary. It’s that electric crackle of excitement that I want to create. I want to make BBC drama a cultural institution – a touchstone for quality and modernity with all the excitement and glamour of a curtain going up," he said.
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