Greg Davies makes a film about the classic novel the classic novel A Kestrel For A  Knave

Greg Davies is to present a documentary about the classic novel A Kestrel For A  Knave as part of a year-long celebration of literature across the BBC.

Other highlights of the programming include The League Of Gentleman’s Mark Gatiss looking at the history of the vampire novel in a BBC One documentary provisionally titled In Search Of Dracula.

In his BBC Four film, Kes: A Boy’s Life, former English teacher Davies looks at how Barry Hines’s book  transformed how working-class lives were portrayed in fiction and inspired others to follow.

The Taskmaster and Cuckoo star also travels to Barnsley to find out what today’s schoolchildren make of the world depicted in the book, meets Hines's brother Richard, who himself trained kestrels as a boy and pays tribute to the book’s memorable football match.

No broadcast date for the documentary has yet been announced.

Other highlights announced today include:

• A three-part BBC Two series The Novels That Shaped Our World, with the list first revealed on Jo Whiley’s Radio 2 show
• Helen Fielding looking back at the origins of her fictional comedy heroine Bridget Jones  for  BBC Two.
• The story of Michael Bond and his greatest creation, Paddington Bear,  on BBC Two.
• Richard E Grant making three journeys to France, Italy and Spain, visiting places that have inspired writers across the centuries, on BBC Four.

Published: 9 Aug 2019