New BBC One, Sky1 Drama Commissions Announced

Get the full lowdown on all of the latest drama coming to BBC One and Sky1 this year, right here!
The Edinburgh Television Festival always plays host to a strong number of announcements regarding newly commissioned dramas on terrestrial and subscription-enabled UK television channels. Thankfully, the 2013 event has proved no different in this respect, with both BBC One and Sky1 unveiling compelling new projects that their production teams will bring to our screens later this year.

Here's our full round-up of today's biggest and most relevant news reveals, each pertaining to the future of these two acclaimed broadcasters:

• BBC ONE COMMISSIONS- Roald Dahl's beloved novel Esio Trot will soon be adapted for a one-off special film on BBC One, written by Richard Curtis and starring Dame Judi Dench along with Dustin Hoffman. On top of that, a new six-part drama called Ordinary Lies will shortly enter production, each instalment focusing on a different character dealing with an everyday domestic dilemma that soon grows beyond their control. Finally, Talk to the Animals investigates the same age-old question as was once posed to us by Dr Dolittle- can we talk to our co-inhabitants of the planet Earth? If so, what secrets might we learn from the animal kingdom? Each of these newly commissioned projects will broadcast in Spring 2014.
• SKY1 COMMISSIONS- Sky1's newly announced roster is somewhat more imminent in terms of broadcasting, with each of the following programmes set to air this Autumn and Winter: a two-part series finale of the acclaimed globe-spanning lads' drama Mad Dogs; a revived version of the family comedy The Kumars returning in a six-part season; Martin Freeman's directorial debut starring the Sherlock actor in a new edition of Little Crackers; along with returns from Karl Pilkington in Karl Pilkington's Moaning of Life, Chris O'Dowd in Moone Boy, Ruth Jones in Stella and Ross Kemp in Extreme World.

For all the latest news on new drama commissions, reviews and previews of upcoming television seasons, keep it On-Screen in the months ahead!