Danny Cohen's leaving present for BBC One Drama

Danny Cohen BBCOutgoing controller of BBC One, Danny Cohen, is leaving his post with a tranche of new drama commissions before stepping up to his new role as director of BBC television.

The four major new commissions come from seasoned writers and high profile production companies, and are all understood to be at the development stage.

Poldark, from Mammoth Screen and writer Debbie Horsfield, revisits 18th century Cornwall, where Ross Poldark has returned to find his father has died and much has changed since he went away. The original, starring Robin Ellis, was a huge hit in the 1970s. Exec producer for the BBC is Polly Hill, along with Debbie Horsfield, Rebecca Keane, Karen Thrussell and Damien Timmer.

Dickensian is from Tony Jordan and his shingle Red Planet Pictures. The series will feature a variety of the colourful characters from several of Dickens’ novels, who will meet each other and interact in surprising ways. Polly Hill and Tony Jordan executive produce.

Kudos Film & Television are working on From There to Here, a funny and moving drama about the aftermath of the Arndale bombing in Manchester. Written by Peter Bowker and set during Euro '96, it follows the impact of the IRA attack on two different families. The BBC exec on this one is Stephen Wright, working alongside Derek Wax for Kudos.

The final production to get the green light is Our Zoo, from Big Talk Productions and Aenon. It is a dramatisation of the true story of the man who created Chester Zoo in the 1930s. Luke Alkin, Adam Kemp and Kenton Allen exec produce for Big Talk with Matthew Read on board for the BBC.

Danny Cohen said: "It has been a joy and privilege to commission programmes for BBC One. I hope audiences enjoy the range and creative ambitions of these new dramas for the channel."

Further information on the four new dramas can be found on Production Intelligence, the online database of advance production news from The Knowledge.