By Neil Midgley, TV & Radio Editor
It was Sky One’s biggest drama commission of 2007 – but now the channel has pulled out of an £8million remake of cult 60s TV drama The Prisoner after an acrimonious row with US cable movie channel AMC, its co-funding partner.
Relations between Sky and AMC became strained when they could not agree which actor should play the central character, Number Six.
The iconic role was played in the original ITV series by Patrick McGoohan, with his trademark white-piped lapels. Industry sources said that Sky wanted a bankable commercial actor to play this role in the remake. But AMC, it seems, were keener on cult American indie actors who would have had little recognition in the UK.
“We were excited to re-invent the programme for a wider audience but insisted on preserving some of its unique British sensibilities,” said a Sky source. “Unfortunately the US co-producers wanted to take the show in a different direction.”
ITV Productions, which is actually making (as opposed to financing) the production, insists that it will continue – with another UK broadcaster stepping in to co-finance it alongside AMC. “We can confirm that Sky is no longer involved in The Prisoner following creative differences over the casting of the show,” said an ITV Productions spokesman. “However, the series is still going ahead and details of a new broadcaster will be announced in the coming weeks." |
