BBC develops Pullman’s Lockhart novels

Published Wednesday 23 November 2005 at 11:10 by Liz Thomas

Exclusive: Philip Pullman’s popular novels The Sally Lockhart Mysteries are being turned into a new fantasy-thriller drama series for the BBC.

The project is still in the early stages of development but fits into Corporation controller of drama commissioning Jane Tranter’s plans to create more family programming for Sunday afternoons and bank holidays.

Based on the three books that make up the Mysteries - The Ruby in the Smoke, The Shadow in the North and The Tiger in the Well - the BBC series will follow the adventures of 16-year-old Lockhart, a self-styled private detective, in Victorian London.

The show has been written by Adrian Hodges, who also penned television hits David Copperfield, Lorna Doone and the Bafta-winning series Charles II - The Power and the Passion. Hodges is currently working on ITV1’s £6 million sci-fi thriller Primaeval.

Following the success of Doctor Who, which is back for a Christmas special before the second series is broadcast next year, Tranter revealed that there would be more investment in drama suitable for all the family.

While the Corporation is also developing updated series based on the legends of Robin Hood and Merlin, former CBBC head of drama Elaine Sperber has said that it is important that the definition of family drama is not too narrow, pointing to the popularity of shows such as Stig of the Dump and Fungus the Bogeyman. She also described BBC1 as “the natural home for series the whole family can watch together”.

It is not the first time the Corporation has adapted Pullman’s work. In 2001, it broadcast his macabre fairytale I Was a Rat. The author is best known for his trilogy His Dark Materials, which appealed to both adults and children and was adapted for the National Theatre by Nicholas Wright. Directed by Nicholas Hytner, the sell-out production featured Timothy Dalton and Patricia Hodges.

His Dark Materials is also being made into feature films, the first of which is expected to be released in cinemas in 2007.