British Period Dramas Score Sales at BBC Showcase

BRIGHTON, February 27:
British period dramas, the likes of Cranford and Oliver Twist, have been snapped up by international buyers at
this year’s BBC Showcase.

Cranford has already sold to seven broadcasters across
seven markets, including Iceland, the U.S. and Cyprus. Starring Academy
Award-winner Judi Dench, the five-part series centers on the small absurdities
and major tragedies of a rural town in the 1840s.

Also securing sales at BBC
Showcase is Oliver Twist. The
new adaptation sold to seven broadcasters from a diverse range of markets,
including Dubai, Canada and India. Another adaptation, Sense and Sensibility, was picked up in 11 markets from Japan to Sweden,
while Miss Austen Regrets saw
sales in Poland, Canada, Korea and the Netherlands in the last two months
alone.

Period dramas look to
continue successful sales with a second season of Lark Rise to Candleford already commissioned and new productions of
Dickens’ Little Dorrit and the
classic Tess of the D’Urbervilles ready
for next year.

Matt Forde, the director
of investment at BBC Worldwide, said: “The popularity of period drama on the
international market this year shows that Britain is still viewed as one of the
best producers of quality adaptations.”

He added: “Familiar titles
like Dickens’ Oliver Twist can
be successfully adapted so that they appeal to a contemporary audience and
still remain fresh. More unrecognizable literature, such as Cranford, proved
that there is a market for new, innovative period drama.”

—By Kristin
Brzoznowski