‘Capital’ BBC Drama: John Lanchester’s Novel to be Adapted into Three-Part TV Series

To be adapted by screenwriter Peter Bowker from John Lanchester’s best-selling novel of the same name, BBC drama Capital will be taking a witty and observant look at modern day Britain.

Airing on BBC One over three-60 minute episodes, this series is being billed as a sharp and vivid drama about a London street that has been transformed by soaring property prices and inhabited by characters diverse in nationality, race, wealth and experience.

Speaking to the BBC about the announcement, Peter Bowker said: “Capital is a novel that is about the way we live in modern cities, where poverty lives cheek by jowl with dazzling affluence and where tradition and modernity clash and coexist. It is both a mystery and a love story. The challenge has been to retain all those elements along with the spirit of the original – a kind of comic outrage – while using John’s cast of fascinating, funny and disparate characters, to explore our relationship with money.”

Commenting on having his novel adapted into a television series, John Lanchester said: “I’m thrilled that Derek Wax and Peter Bowker are making Capital for the BBC. It’s going to be very exciting and very strange to have something on the telly, rather than sitting on the sofa watching it.”

With the announcement of Capital’s commissioning having only just been made, cast list and air date details are naturally some way off. However, we’ll bring you more news on the series as it’s released.