BritBox and Binge among international buyers of Channel 4’s A Woman of Substance

Brenda Blethyn as Emma Harte in A Woman of Substance

LONDON TV SCREENINGS: BritBox in North America and Foxtel’s Binge streaming service in Australia are among the international buyers to have acquired the new adaptation of A Woman of Substance.

The show’s distributor, Banijay Rights, announced a number of sales for the drama on the first day of the London TV Screenings.

Produced by Banijay-owned The Forge (National Treasure, The Buccaneers, Marriage) for Channel 4 in the UK, the series is a re-imagining of the bestselling novel by Barbara Taylor Bradford.

BritBox has acquired the eight-part series in a deal negotiated by Matt Creasey, exec VP of sales, acquisitions and coproductions at Banijay Rights.

Binge will be the exclusive Australian home of the series, while TVNZ in New Zealand, NPO in the Netherlands, Cellcom TV Plus in Israel, Cosmote TV in Greece and RUV in Iceland have also acquired the show.

The adaptation stars Brenda Blethyn (Vera, Little Voice) and Jessica Reynolds (House of Guinness, Outlander) as older and younger versions respectively of Emma Harte, a housemaid turned mogul, daughter, mother, lover, fighter and a 20th century feminist icon who refused to know her ‘place.’

The drama is adapted by Katherine Jakeways (The Buccaneers) and co-written by Roanne Bardsley (The Buccaneers, Screw). The executive producers are Beth Willis, Joe Innes, George Faber, Katherine Jakeways and The Barbara Taylor Bradford Trust. Roanne Bardsley is co-executive producer and Charlie Palmer is producing.

The series was commissioned for Channel 4 by Rebecca Holdsworth, commissioning editor, and Gwawr Lloyd, acting head of drama.

A Woman of Substance forms part of Banijay Rights’ slate of scripted series to be showcased to international buyers at Banijay Entertainment’s London TV Screenings event at Bafta on Wednesday.