Spain welcomes A Woman of Substance

Spanish public broadcaster RTVE has picked up rights to British drama A Woman of Substance, which was recently extended into a second season by the UK’s Channel 4.

The eight-part series, based on the best selling novel written by Barbara Taylor Bradford, will air in Spain this summer and is sold by Banijay Rights.

A Woman of Substance stars Brenda Blethyn (Pride and Prejudice) and Jessica Reynolds (The Wolf) as the iconic character Emma Harte, who rises from living in poverty in Yorkshire to become the world’s richest woman.

It is based on the first half of Taylor Bradford’s seminal novel of the same name and comes 40 years after Channel 4 first adapted the whole book, with that adaptation created as a mini-series that went on to become the UK broadcaster’s most popular ever drama.

The latest adaptation was produced by Banijay-owned The Forge Entertainment (The Buccaneers). Its first season became C4 streaming’s most-watched drama in five years, with an average audience of three million per episode. The show has already been picked up by BritBox in North America, and Foxtel and Binge in Australia, among others.

RTVE has also acquired Banijay Rights’ Italian psychological thriller Free Women (Libere Donne), which was produced by Endemol Shine Italy and Rai Fiction.

The series is set during the Second World War and explores the fragility of perception and questions a woman’s sanity in a story of justice, marriage and redemption.

Marion Vergnaud, Banijay Rights’ senior vice president of sales for Iberia and Italy, said the sale of A Woman of Substance highlighted the demand for “engaging, character driven drama across key European markets…”