The Stage

Bonham Carter joins drive to raise BBC2 drama profile

Published Tuesday 19 July 2005 at 15:30 by Liz Thomas

Helena Bonham Carter is to star in a new BBC2 drama as part of plans to raise the profile of the genre on the channel.

The actress is to play Maggie, a mother with seven children, four of whom are autistic. Entitled Magnificent 7, the story is based on Jacqui Jackson and her children, who were featured in the documentary My Family and Autism. The drama is written by Sandy Welch, the creator of period drama North and South.

Bonham Carter has made her name in hit productions such as Howards End, Fight Club, Planet of the Apes and stars in the current remake of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

BBC2 controller Roly Keating said: “She is a stunning signing for this strongly authored single drama. She will bring poignancy and spirit to this modern day tale of family life.”

Earlier this year Keating promised a greater commitment to drama on his channel and admitted the current volume was far too small. He explained: “There is just not as much of it as there should be and I don’t think we are capturing the range of programmes we need to.”

He added that he hoped a key legacy of his time as controller would be the development of the channel’s distinctive drama profile with new writers and series but conceded that his plans would take time to filter through to screens.

He also said there would be more single dramas such as Bafta nominee The Long Firm and that he was looking to commission adaptations of 20th century literature. There are also plans for a drama entitled Riots at the Rite, about Vaslav Nijinsky’s controversial performance of his ballet The Rites of Spring in 1913, which provoked uproar at its premiere.