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| Last Updated: Thursday, 4 May 2006, 10:56 GMT 11:56 UK Remake for cult show The Prisoner Patrick McGoohan played Prisoner Number 6 in the original Cult TV series The Prisoner is to be remade into a six-part series for Sky One, the broadcaster has confirmed. Director of programmes Richard Woolfe promised a "thrilling reinvention" of the drama about an ex-secret agent trapped in an isolated village. "If Doctor Who set the standard, The Prisoner raises the bar," he said. The original series ran for 17 episodes on ITV in 1967, and starred Patrick McGoohan. Christoper Eccleston has been linked with the new show's lead role. Conspiracy thriller "This project has been subject to an unprecedented level of attention, attracting an array of A-list actors and writers," said commissioning editor Elaine Pyke. The new series will be made by Granada from a script Bill Gallagher, writer of the award-winning series Clocking Off. "The Prisoner is like Pandora's box - it's the ultimate conspiracy thriller," said Damien Timmer, executive producer of the show. "Like 24, the new series will entrap you from the opening scene. We hope it will tap into this iconic show's existing cult following, whilst creating a whole new generation of fans." |
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| Former Doctor Who star Christopher Eccleston is in talks to take the lead role in a new version of cult '60s drama The Prisoner, according to various reports. The original series starred Patrick McGoohan as a top government agent who was abducted after resigning from his position. The character then found himself in a sinister village where nothing was as it seemed. The remake will be the biggest ever drama commission for Sky One, running to a cost of more than £8 million for the first, six-episode series. "If Doctor Who set the standard, The Prisoner raises the bar," said channel controller Richard Woolfe. "This series is a sophisticated, high concept drama to rival anything on the terrestrials and the best of the US. It's our biggest drama commission ever and every penny will be evident on screen." Executive producer Damien Timmer added: "The Prisoner is like Pandora's box - it's the ultimate ultimate conspiracy thriller. Like 24, the new series will entrap you from the opening scene. We hope it will tap into this iconic show's existing cult following, whilst creating a whole new generation of fans." Production on the show begins this summer for TX next spring. |
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| Online vote for new Prisoner lead The village which provided the setting for TV series The Prisoner is holding an online vote for suggestions for the actor to play the lead in the remake. The 17-episode series, filmed in Portmeirion in 1966-67, saw Patrick McGoohan play Number Six - an ex-secret agent held captive in the village. A Sky One remake of the cult series is planned for next year but the lead actor has not yet been announced. The online vote will run on the village's official website for a month. Architect Clough Williams-Ellis built Portmeirion from 1925 to 1975 on a peninsula on the Gwynedd coast. The village was built in Italianate style and attracts about 250,000 visitors a year, many of them as a result of its association with The Prisoner. The show portrayed Mr McGoohan's character held among a brainwashed population held captive by a mysterious regime. The prisoners were known only by numbers and although there were no bars or barbed wire, massive balloons would smother anyone making an escape bid. PORTMEIRION FACTS Portmeirion was built between 1926 - 1939 and 1954 - 1972 by Clough Williams-Ellis The McGoohan character in The Prisoner famously declared: "I am not a number; I am a free man" The finale of the ITV hit show Cold Feet was filmed there in 2003 The village includes colourful cottages and examples of varying architectural styles Following its original 1967 ITV broadcast, the series was shown in more than 60 countries throughout the world and developed something of a cult following. A planned remake is due to be broadcast in spring 2007, but it has not yet been announced who will fill the shoes of Patrick McGoohan in the Number Six role. Visitors to the village's website are now being asked to submit suggestions for the new Number Six. Robin Llywelyn, managing director of the site and grandson of its creator Sir Clough, said: "Since launching the online vote, we have had a good response, people take it very seriously. "To this end, we have already had requests from people keen to see Patrick McGoohan return to play the role." The online poll runs to the end of the month. Story from BBC NEWS: |
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| Richard Woolfe, head of Sky One was interviewed 24th August 2007 by Neil Wilkes, editor at Digital Spy about the "abandoned remake of The Prisoner": What happened with the planned remake of The Prisoner? "The Prisoner is not happening. It's a very quintessentially British drama and there were too many creative differences trying to share it with an American partner. I didn't want to be responsible for taking something that is quintessentially British and adapting it in a way that I didn't feel was reflective of the way people would remember it and the way people would want it to be. So we called time on that." |