BBC One Commissions New Dramas

BBC One has announced a number of new dramas that will air on weekday afternoons from this autumn. Others will air in early 2017.

Commencing at the end of this month, will be The Moonstone. This 5x45' series stars John Thomson (Cold Feet) and Sarah Hadland (Miranda) and is a period adaptation of the novel by Wilkie Collins. Thomson plays Sergeant Cuff, with Hadland playing the pious and unwittingly hilarious Miss Clack.

Following a party at an English country house, a diamond goes missing and a number of suspects have motive for its disappearance. The charismatic Franklin Blake realises he can only win the heart of his true love, Rachel Verinder, if he finds the thief. He manages to persuade Detective Sergeant Cuff out of retirement to assist him in investigating the theft.

The Moonstone will air as part of the BBC #LoveToRead season, supported by BBC Learning.
The Executive Producers are Jo Sargent and John Yorke for King Bert Productions and Dan McGolpin for the BBC.

Moving On has been created by Jimmy McGovern and returns for an eighth series. Each of the 5x45' episodes tell a self-contained story of characters who have reached a turning point in their lives and are trying to move on.

The Executive Producers are Colin McKeown and Jimmy McGovern for LA Productions and Dan McGolpin for the BBC.

The Coroner returns to BBC One for a second series and sees Coroner Jane Kennedy (Claire Goose) investigating sudden or unexplained deaths in the English costal community of Lighthaven, South Devon. She works alongside her former flame Detective Sergeant Davey Higgins (Matt Bardock) and is forced to deal with their past when the family member of an old school friend is found dead in a suspicious car accident.

The Coroner is produced out of the BBC Birmingham Drama Village. Will Trotter is Executive Producer.

Later this year will also see a Father Brown Christmas Special. The episode will see Father Brown investigate when the son of a Duke is abducted from Lady Felicia's yuletide ball.

Canon Fox (Roger May) pays a visit to inform Father Brown (Mark Williams) and Mrs McCarthy (Sorcha Cusack) that the Duke of Frome, John Langton (Ray Coulthard) will be attending Christmas Mass at St Mary's. Later at the Yuletide Ball, Inspector Mallory (Jack Deam) is informed that the infant is missing. With a ladder against the nursery window, the Inspector surmises that the baby has been kidnapped: all they can do now is wait. Can he find the child in time for Christmas?

Father Brown is produced out of the BBC Birmingham Drama Village. Will Trotter is Executive Producer.

An 8x45' series of The Doctor Blake Mysteries has been recommissioned for a fourth series and is about Australian Second World War veteran Doctor Lucien Blake (Craig McLachlan), who solves crimes from his local medical practice. This time around, Doctor Blake returns to Ballarat to solve a series of strange and baffling murders, only to find that change is afoot, nothing is sacred, and no one is safe.

The Doctor Blake Mysteries is produced by December Media for ABC Australia. The Executive Producer is Tony Wright, with George Adams as Producer.

A Place To Call Home is a 12x50' Australian romantic drama set after World War II, and follows one woman as she returns home to start a new life after spending 20 years abroad. This series, viewers will see how the relationships between the characters as affected by two contrasting social issues in 1954; the conservative wave of fear generated by the 'Reds under the beds' scare, and the wave of liberal change that opened up new social and moral choices for Australians at the time.

Produced by Seven Network Australia, the Executive Producers are John Holmes, Julie McGauran, and Penny Win. The series returns to BBC in early 2017.

Lastly, Red Rock will also return to BBC One in summer 2017. Based around a busy Garda station, just removed from the big city, the drama tells the story of a feud between two local families; the Hennessys and the Kielys.

A cliffhanger at the end of the last series saw the death of one of the characters. Season two sees how the murder sends waves through the community.

Red Rock is an award-winning Irish drama series from All3Media International, produced by Element Pictures and Company Pictures. It was created by Executive Producer Peter McKenna.

Dan McGolpin, Controller of Daytime and Early-Peak, said: "We know that BBC Daytime viewers love to escape into a good story and we've got a fantastic mix of both original and acquired drama coming up for them this autumn and next year."

Sue Deeks, Head of Programme Acquisition, added: "Following the enduring success of A Place To Call Home and The Doctor Blake Mysteries, and a very positive response to new crime drama Red Rock, we have acquired new series of all three shows as part of BBC Daytime's popular drama line-up."

All the shows have been commissioned by Dan McGolpin, and acquired by Sue Deeks.

Image: BBC Media Centre.

www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre

(JP/MH)