ITV Hopes Sleuths Will Find Audiences
Granada has secured the exclusive rights to all of the Marple and Poirot books and is planning a TV comeback for the sleuths.
It is understood the ITV Network has committed itself to 24-hours of programming from the duo over the next four years, in a multi-million pound deal.
David Suchet will be returning to the role of Poirot and has agreed to film 3 new Poirot programmes including Death on the Nile. However, it is not known who will play Miss Marple, in what had previously been one of the BBC’s most famous detective dramas, with a series running from 1984 to 1992.
According to John Whiston, Granada’s head of drama, the BBC was also hoping to secure the deal, but was pipped at the post by Granada. He also claimed that ITV has been doing what the BBC is “lavishly” funded to do.
Whiston, speaking at the Broadcasting Press Guild lunch yesterday, launched a fervent attack on the BBC’s drama output, claiming: “The popularity of Granada’s drama comes from the fact that, unlike the metro-centric BBC, there is no huge gulf or disjunct between the people who make the shows and the people who watch them.”
He added: “If you showed all of ITV’s drama output of the last few years to an alien and asked them to guess who’d made it they’d say it was made by a public service broadcaster confident in its funding and focused on its remit to produce challenging and popular work.”
Whiston also announced two new crime-drama’s for ITV; A two-part mystery called Suspicion, which is set to star Amanda Redman, and Blue Murder, which hopes to make Caroline Quentin the new Morse.
However, earlier this month the BBC earmarked Sunday nights for big budget dramas with the announcement of two major historical projects on BBC1 and BBC2 (see BBC Bags Sunday Night Drama Slot). The move follows a campaign by ITV to ensure that its adaptation of Dr Zhivago was not put head to head with the BBC’s adaptation of Daniel Deronda (see ITV Asks BBC To Avoid Autumn Drama Clash)
Granada: 020 7620 1620 www.granadamedia.com
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