Lord of the Flies on BBC One: Jack Thorne's adaptation of famous novel gets confirmed start date
New images show the young cast filming on location in Malaysia
Lord of the Flies – one of the most famous books on the planet – is getting a modern adaptation thanks to Jack Thorne, and the BBC One has now confirmed the start date.
Seventy years after the William Golding novel was first published, a largely unknown cast of young actors are bringing the pages to life. And if it’s anything as good as it looks in these first look pictures, we’re in for one hell of a ride.
Here’s everything we know so far about the BBC One adaptation of Lord of the Flies, including plot, cast, start date, location, and episode guide.
What is Lord of the Flies about?
Lord of the Flies follows a group of young schoolchildren who find themselves stranded on a tropical island with no adults, following a terrifying plane crash.
In an attempt to remain civil, the scared boys organise themselves in an attempt to survive. While Ralph leads, the group’s intellectual, Piggy, supports him.
But Jack, who is in charge of signal fire duty, is more interested in hunting and vying for leadership himself… He soon begins to draw some of the boys away from the order of the group. However, this soon turns to tragedy.
Ultimately, their disastrous attempts to govern themselves lead to a descent into savagery.
Three-time BAFTA winner Marc Munden (Help) directed the show.
Don't miss a single story! Add us as a Preferred Source in Google for all your television news
Where was it filmed?
The young cast have been filming on location in Malaysia, ahead of further filming later this year in the UK.
Malaysia is famous for its lush green landscapes, and beach island. Crazy Rich Asians also used the Asian country as a filming location.
Who is in the cast of Lord of the Flies?
The cast is made up of young actors – more than 30 – many of them making their professional acting debuts – as the the desert island camp’s “biguns” and “littluns”.
The castaways are played by:
- Winston Sawyers as Ralph.
- Lox Pratt as Jack.
- David McKenna as Piggy.
- Ike Talbut as Simon.
- Thomas Connor as Roger.
- Noah and Cassius Flemming as twins Sam and Eric.
- Cornelius Brandreth as Maurice.
- Tom Page-Turner as Bill.
Is it based on a book?
Lord of the Flies is an adaptation of William Golding’s classic novel Lord of the Flies. Published in 1954, it was Golding’s first novel.
Faber first published Lord of the Flies for what was then an unknown author. It has subsequently become one of the most popular books on the English curriculum for the last 70 years. William Golding won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1983.
It’s sold more than 10 million copies worldwide. In 2019, BBC News included Lord of the Flies on its list of the 100 most inspiring novels.
Fellow author Kingsley Amis called the book “terrifying and haunting”.
What is Jack Thorne famous for?
Multi-BAFTA award winning writer Jack Thorne has adapted the bestselling book, the first for television. Truthful to the original novel – set in the early 1950s on an unnamed Pacific island – Thorne’s adaptation delves further into the book’s emotive themes; human nature, the loss of innocence and boyhood masculinity.
The series has been made with the support of Lord of the Flies author William Golding’s family. Jack Thorne is best known for writing the recent Netflix hit Adolescence, as well as This is England ’90, Kiri, and The Accident.
It’s not the first time Jack has adapted a book either. He wrote the TV adaptation of His Dark Materials, Help, and Enola Holmes. More recently, Jack created the TV series Toxic Town for Netflix, and The Hack for ITV.
Has there been any other Lord of the Flies adaptations?
This is the first ever TV adaptation. However, have been film adaptations.
These include the 1990 version starring Balthazar Getty, and the earlier 1960 adaptation by director Peter Brook.
How many episodes is it?
Lord of the Flies is four episodes of one hour each.
We’re told: “Each of the four episodes is titled after a character at the core of the story – Ralph, Piggy, Simon, and Jack – offering a subtly different perspective on the boys’ collective plight and manner in which they cope with their predicament.”
When’s the start date? How many I watch it?
All episodes of Lord of the Flies will be on BBC iPlayer from 6am on Sunday 8 February.
BBC One will air the series weekly from 9pm that night.
What music is used in the series?
Original music for the series has been created by three of “the biggest and most celebrated artists”. Composer Cristobal Tapia de Veer provided the score, and he’s known for his work on The White Lotus, Smile, National Treasure.
Hans Zimmer (Dune, Planet Earth, The Lion King) and Kara Talve (Tattooist of Auschwitz, Prehistoric Planet) of Bleeding Fingers Music created the series’ main theme and additional music.
Read more: Latest news on ’emotional’ new Irish family drama based on Marian Keyes’ bestseller Grown Ups
