BBC rewrites DICKENS to make British Empire more beastly in new TV adaptation of Great Expectations 

The BBC has injected a strong anti-colonial message into its adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic novel Great Expectations, it has been revealed.

Written by Peaky Blinders creator Stephen Knight, the beloved novel has been given a new twist, referencing the evils of Empire which were not present in the original Victorian book.

Asked by the newspaper about whether he is concerned his version of the beloved tale may upset traditionalists, Knight said: ‘It’s everyone’s right to react in the way they want to react. 

‘But I would say that the book exists, it is still there. This is not an attempt to say the book is wrong or this is better.’

Knight also reportedly told his cast that the adaptation would aim to remove the stiffness long associated with Victorian Britain.

Still set in the 19th century, the 1861 novel has been adapted into a slightly more modern drama which creators hope will attract new audiences to it.

The show’s lead actor, Ffion Whitehead, expressed his hope that the BBC’s dramatisation will make the canonical novel ‘more accessible for younger people’.

The actor, who is no stranger to period dramas having previously starring in Dunkirk, plays orphan Pip, the novel’s protagonist.

Source of data and images: dailymail