The Independent – Tuesday 2nd April, 2002

By Louise Jury
Media Correspondent.

Sherlock Holmes and his sidekick Dr Watson are to be transformed from the intrepid sleuths of modern imagination into muscular men of action in a remake of Sir Conan Doyle’s classic stories.

The Hound of the Baskervilles is to be filmed for a one-off drama this spring, with its leading characters played by the youngest actors since the detective duo were first brought to the screen more than 60 years ago.

For those weaned on the likes of Basil Rathbone or Nigel Bruce, the latest castings may appear yet another step in the march of youthful vigour over the wisdom of age.

However the production, by the independent company Tiger Aspect, will take the much-adapted story closer to the original, with Holmes and Watson portrayed as young and athletic men in their mid-30’s in contrast to the mature and paternalistic figures of most screen versions.

Richard Roxburgh, 40, who played the Duke in the film Moulin Rouge, will star as Holmes while Ian Hart, 38, who portrayed Quill in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone will be Dr Watson.

Alongside them in the film, which will be set in 1901, when it was written, will appear Richard E Grant as an archaeologist and John Nettles as the local physician, Mortimer.

Computer-generated wizardry will also add a cutting edge to the classic tale of Dartmoor terror, with the technology that brought dinosaurs to life expected to turn the famous hound into a ‘genuinely frightening’ creation.

Jane Tranter, the BBC’s controller of drama commissioning, said the adaptation would be “a chilling thriller for the 21st century”.

It follows in the footsteps of The Lost World, also adapted from Conan Doyle’s text and shown last Christmas, in which computer technology was used to add authenticity to the drama. “It’s for an adult audience and features a genuinely frightening hound using the latest technology,” Ms Tranter said.

The Hound of the Baskerville will be filmed on location in the Isle of Man, Liverpool and Cumbria, although it will not use the Dartmoor and London settings of the novel.

The BBC’s last adaptation of the story was a four-part serialisation in 1982, starring Tom Baker as Holmes.

Earlier BBC versions include one in which Peter Cushing played the famous detective in 1968, although the first version was a Twentieth Century Fox film with Basil Rathbone in 1939. ITV produced a version with Jeremy Brett in 1988.