Toby Whithouse Working With Neil Gaiman On The New Gormenghast

Toby Whithouse

by James White |
Published on

In April, news broke that a new adaptation of Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast novels was in the works, with Neil Gaiman and Akiva Goldsman involved. Neither of the pair will actually write the thing, but we do know who will: Doctor Who veteran Toby Whithouse.

The writer and producer, who also created Being Human and most recently scripted dystopian sci-fi drama Noughts And Crosses, will craft the show for Freemantle, which hatched a deal to adapt all of Peake's books.

Set in the decaying, gothic Castle Gormenghast, the story follows various characters, including scheming kitchen boy Steerpike; Titus, heir to the House of Groan; plus twin sisters Cora and Clarice. There is much backstabbing, greed and jealousy. It'll mark the first televised take on the books since the Beeb brought the first two to the screen in 2000.

Gaiman and Goldsman are on to oversee the show alongside Barry Spikings and David A. Stern, but there's no word on when it might hit screens, and a channel (or streaming service) has yet to nab the rights. We'd guess Amazon will certainly be in the mix, though, given Gaiman's close connection via Good Omens and his recent deal with the company.

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