CHANNEL 4 has confirmed its bringing back one of its most acclaimed dramas, forty years after it first appeared on TV screens.
Channel 4 is reprising one of its iconic dramas, based off the multi-million bestselling novel written by Barbara Taylor Bradford.
The best-selling 1979 novel A Woman of Substance was adapted into a film starring Liam Neeson, Deborah Kerr and Jenny Seagrove in 1985.
Now Channel 4 has confirmed it will reboot the iconic drama into an eight-part series.
Previously the film broke the channel’s rating records and still ranks top on its streaming charts back to our screen.
The record-breaking series told the story of a British servant girl, played by Jenny Seagrove and Emma Harte, who launches her retail empire against all odds.
Discussing the upcoming reboot, Katherine Jakeways, showrunner and writer, explained why she wanted to bring it back to screens.
She said: “I was a child in the ’80s, when A Woman of Substance was on every bookstand, every glass-topped coffee table and hidden, well-thumbed, under every pillow.
“The original Channel 4 adaptation was packed full of rolling Yorkshire hills, hairspray, shoulder pads and heaving bosoms and I desperately wanted in.
“So, it’s an incredible thrill for me to be bringing this blockbusting, epic saga of ambition, lust and revenge back to exactly where it belongs… Channel 4.
“And, we hope, doing justice to those twin feminist icons: the unstoppable Emma Harte and the original, inspirational Woman of Substance herself… Barbara Taylor Bradford.”
Ollie Madden, Director of Film4 and Channel 4 Drama, added: “Emma Harte’s superpower is weaponizing the degree to which men underestimate her.
“Watching her do that through the decades, experiencing her epic journey from housemaid to mogul, promises to be as thrillingly entertaining as it is fiercely relevant.
“We couldn’t be more excited to bring Barbara Taylor Bradford’s classic creation to life again via the brilliance of Katherine Jakeways and Roanne Bardsley’s sparkling scripts, alongside our trusted partners at The Forge.”
Esteemed actor Peter Egan, who previously played Emma’s father Adam Fairley in the 1985 drama, spoke exclusively to The Sun last year as he revealed the reboot was in the works.
He said to us: “I can see why they’re reviving it, because it’s a very good rags-to-riches tale and engages with all of the things that make a good story, like adultery and deceit and betrayal and passion and love.
“The networks are hungry for material. And if they’ve got a good title, like a woman of substance, half their job is done anyway.”
Details of the cast for the new reboot are yet to be released as well as an air date for the new eight-part series.
The 1985 adaptation and upcoming Tv series is based off the best selling novel by author Barbara Taylor Bradford[/caption]
The 1985 series also starred Peter Egan and Liam Neeson when it first aired four decades ago[/caption]
