Tony Jordan to Pen Barbara Windsor BBC Drama

LONDON: BBC Drama has made three new commissions, one of which is for a series about the life of Dame Barbara Windsor.

The single drama Babs, set for BBC One, will be written by Tony Jordan and air next year as Windsor approaches her 80th birthday. The drama will be produced by BBC Studios in association with Red Planet Pictures.

BBC One will also bring to the screen the David Nicholls novel Us with a multi-part adaptation by Nick Payne. Produced by Drama Republic, Us tells the story of Douglas and Connie Peterson, a couple whose marriage is on the rocks. When they go on a family tour of European cities, Douglas sees it as a last bid to win back the love of his wife and repair his troubled relationship with his son.

BBC Two will air an adaptation of Sathnam Sanghera’s memoir of love, secrets and lies: The Boy With The Topknot, produced by Parti Productions and Kudos. Set in Wolverhampton, the series will tell the story of a second-generation Indian growing up in Britain and how he juggles his family, love life and career.

BBC Two ordered a further two seasons of Steven Knight’s 1920s-set series Peaky Blinders. BBC One is going for a second season of Peter Bowker’s The A Word, the story of a family dealing with a son who has autism.

Charlotte Moore, the BBC’s acting director of television, said: “Following BBC Drama’s tremendous start to the year, it is clear audiences are looking for even greater ambition and high quality. So I want to continue to expand our range even further and reaffirm my commitment to commission the very best drama in the U.K.

“Today I’m announcing a mix of contemporary, provocative pieces and surprising stories, with three new titles and two returning series. On BBC One, Us is an adaptation of David Nicholls’ best seller about a modern marriage on the rocks. And Tony Jordan pens a touching single drama on the life of one of the nation’s best-loved actresses, Dame Barbara Windsor, who only last week bid an emotional farewell to EastEnders. On BBC Two, Sathnam Sanghera’s memoir The Boy With The Topknot will bring to life his personal story of a second-generation Indian growing up in Wolverhampton. Two of our best writers, Peter Bowker and Steven Knight, have been recommissioned. Family drama The A Word will return, challenging perceptions of living with autism, and we’ve commissioned two more series of the mesmerizing Peaky Blinders for BBC Two.”