BBC Daytime Lines Up Drama Slate

LONDON: The BBC has planned six weeks of new dramas kicking off this fall for weekday afternoons, with season two of The Coroner among the highlights.

Returning for a second 10×45-minute season, The Coroner stars Claire Goose (Waking the Dead) as Coroner Jane Kennedy, who investigates sudden or unexplained deaths in the English coastal community of Lighthaven, South Devon. The show is produced out of the BBC Birmingham Drama Village.

The new 5×45-minute period drama The Moonstone will air as part of the BBC’s #LoveToRead season, supported by BBC Learning. The series is an adaptation of Wilkie Collins’ novel.

Moving On, the acclaimed daytime drama series created by Jimmy McGovern, returns for its eighth season. There will also be a Father Brown Christmas special.

With regard to acquisitions, the fourth season of the crime drama The Doctor Blake Mysteries is coming to the daytime lineup of BBC One. Red Rock, meanwhile, is an award-winning Irish drama series from all3media International, produced by Element Pictures and Company Pictures. On BBC Two, the Australian romantic drama A Place to Call Home will run with a 12×50-minute season.

Dan McGolpin, the BBC’s 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, the head of program acquisition, said: “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 [seasons] of all three shows as part of BBC Daytime’s popular drama lineup.”