Red Arrow and Adrian Hodges to develop White Gold for Channel 4

13 September 2012

Red Arrow Entertainment and 4Rights, the rights exploitation arm of Channel 4, have announced a deal to develop Giles Milton's acclaimed book White Gold as an epic historical drama series for Channel 4.

BAFTA-winning writer Adrian Hodges (My Week With Marilyn, Labyrinth, Primeval) will write the two-hour pilot script and bible for the proposed 12-part series.  Simon Maxwell, Red Arrow's Head of Drama & Comedy, will serve as Executive Producer and Sophie Gardiner will lead development for Channel 4. 

White Gold is an extraordinary account of the Barbary Corsair pirates and the white slave trade in North Africa throughout the 17th and 18th centuries.  During this time, over one million white slaves were snatched in pirate raids across England, mainland Europe, and even as far as North America. The book revolves around the true story of Thomas Pellow, a young Cornish merchant seized at sea by Barbary Corsairs and bought by the sultan of Morocco, Moulay Ismail, a man who had monarchs across the Western world running scared.  So begun Pellow's 23-year ordeal as the sultan's slave.  It's a story of extraordinary adventure, bravery, defiance and ultimately triumph against incredible odds.

Red Arrow, in conjunction with producer Piers Tempest, optioned the rights to the book in 2011 and soon began discussions with Adrian Hodges about adapting the story for the screen.  Adrian immediately saw the potential to expand the book's characters and themes over an even broader, more epic canvas as a long-running series for TV.  A pitch was prepared and sold in to Channel 4. 

Simon Maxwell said: "Our focus at Red Arrow is to identify the boldest stories, with international relevance, and match them with world-class writing talent.  White Gold blows the lid off a forgotten yet revelatory chapter from our past and, given the sheer scale and ambition of the project, we're delighted to have Adrian Hodges at the helm to bring this story to life.  It's a story as thought provoking as it is gripping and its perfect home is Channel 4."

Adrian Hodges said: "White Gold is an incredible historical adventure that sheds light on a little known part of our history.  It's about slavery and survival, the clash of wildly different cultures and above all the unquenchable desire for freedom.  It's very rare to come across a story that features such a panoramic account of a remarkable event in our collective past which also features such an amazing collection of vivid characters and incidents.  I'm truly excited by the incredible potential of this story and looking forward to the challenge of dramatising it.  I can honestly say that in over 20 years as a professional writer I've rarely come across material so packed with almost unbelievable drama which is both true to its period and yet also full of contemporary resonance.  It's a great story and I hope I can do it justice."

Sophie Gardiner, C4 commissioning editor for drama added: "We are delighted to be developing White Gold with Adrian Hodges and Red Arrow.  It is a show of great scale and ambition, a story of a fascinating period of our history and one which we would love to see on our screens."

The development for Channel 4 is being funded by 4Rights, which has a first option to pick up all UK secondary and ancillary rights if the script is ordered to series.  The deal follows 4Rights recent investment in the US remake of French drama series Pigalle, which is being adapted by James Manos (Dexter) and Helion Pictures.

Red Arrow International will handle international distribution of White Gold.

 

Notes to Editors:

Red Arrow Entertainment was launched in January 2011 as the UK production arm of the Red Arrow Entertainment Group. The company is wholly owned by the German broadcasting group ProSieben.Sat1 GmbH, the second largest media company in Europe.

Led by industry experts Joel Denton and James Baker - joint MD's of Red Arrow Entertainment - with Simon Maxwell as Head of Drama and Comedy, the new company produces drama series, mini-series and comedy series for the international market, with a primary focus on the UK and US. Since incorporation, it has been actively developing projects for all the major UK broadcasters with the best writing talent in the industry.

 

4Rights (www.4rights.tv) is the rights exploitation arm of Channel 4. It is responsible for managing and exploiting TV rights through a range of businesses, including DVD distribution, UK secondary sales, live events and publishing.

4Rights works closely with many of the UK's leading independent producers and is a major investor in original UK programming. In the last 12 months it has funded over 100 hours of programming for Channel 4, as well as The Inbetweeners Movie, one of the most successful British films of all time.