EXCLUSIVE: BritBox has swooped for A Woman of Substance and will show the new adaptation of Barbara Taylor Bradford’s multi-million bestselling novel in the U.S. The rags-to-riches drama is for Channel 4 in the UK and stars Brenda Blethyn (Vera) and Jessica Reynolds (Outlander). A 1980s miniseries based on the book and starring Jenny Seagrove and Deborah Kerr was also for Channel 4 and remains one of its most successful ever dramas. The final episode still ranks as the highest rated program in the channel’s history.
BritBox has taken U.S. streaming rights, inking a deal with Banijay Rights, which is handling international sales.
News of the new series came to light shortly after Taylor Bradford’s death in late 2024. The drama is made by The Forge, the producer of The Buccaneers. Two of the writers of that show, Katherine Jakeways and Roanne Bardsley, penned the series.
Blethyn plays Emma Harte in A Woman of Substance with Reynolds starring as the younger version of the character. Emma in 1911 is an impoverished but ambitious maid in Yorkshire, England. She goes on a dizzying journey to become the world’s richest woman, gazing down on the world from a sprawling luxury New York penthouse. The drama premiere on Channel 4 later this year.
As well as a U.S. sale, Banijay Rights has shopped the show to a raft of other buyers. Foxtel’s streaming service Binge has acquired it for Australia and pubcaster TVNZ has taken New Zealand rights. Elsewhere, NPO has it in the Netherlands, Cosmote in Greece, Cellcom TV Plus in Israel and RUV in Iceland.
Matt Creasey, EVP Sales, Acquisitions and Coproductions, negotiated the U.S. streaming deal. “BritBox is the perfect North American home for this bold new adaptation of Barbara Taylor Bradford’s classic story, which follows Emma Harte’s extraordinary rags-to-riches journey,” he said. “We’re in no doubt this premium drama will captivate global audiences in what has been an incredible sales effort from the Banijay Rights team.”
The sales on A Woman of Substance effectively sounds the starting gun on the London TV Screenings, which take place this week. Banijay, alongside All3Media, ITV Studios and Fremantle are the four distributors that started the event, but its ranks have swelled with over 40 sales houses showing off their wares.
