of an alien invasion, alongside George's elder brother Frederick (Rupert Graves) and the astronomer/scientist Ogilvy (Robert Carlyle).

Craig Viveiros (And Then There Were None, Rillington Place) will direct the first ever British TV serial based on Wells's novel, from producer Mammoth Screen (Vanity Fair, The ABC Murders).

"The version of The War of the Worlds that I wanted to make is one that's faithful to the tone and the spirit of the book, but which also feels contemporary, surprising and full of shocks," writer Harness has said. "[It'll be] a collision of sci-fi, period drama and horror."

Harness was originally linked to the mini-series in December 2015, with Broadcast the first to report his involvement. But all this time later and Digital Spy understands that a transmission date for The Warof the Worlds is still yet to be set by the BBC.

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Before you start worrying, though, that the whole thing's a disaster the Beeb is looking to bury, there are a number of perfectly practical reasons for its long gestation.

Chiefly, despite those early rumblings in late 2015, Mammoth Screen's production could not begin in earnest until 2017, by which time The War of the Worlds – and indeed, all of HG Wells's works – had passed into the public domain. (Essentially, this means that copyright law no longer applies, making his books free to access, reprint... and, yes, adapt.)

BBC

Once this hurdle had been vaulted, the BBC quickly confirmed in May 2017 that it had greenlit the three-parter. Now,