Faber's The Cry to be adapted for BBC One

Faber title The Cry by Helen FitzGerald is to be adapted into a drama series for BBC One.

Commissioned by Piers Wenger, controller of BBC Drama, and Charlotte Moore, director of BBC Content, "The Cry" is the first television commission for Scottish-based production company Synchronicity Films and will be based on FitzGerald's title which was first published by Faber in 2013. The deal was done by Marjacq Scripts.

The four-part series will be a psychological drama set in Scotland and Australia which chronicles the collapse of a marriage in the aftermath of a tragedy, and explores the myths and truths of motherhood. The abduction of a baby from a small coastal town in Australia is the catalyst for a journey into the disintegrating psychology of a young woman – Joanna - as she and her husband, Alistair, deal with an unthinkable tragedy under both the white light of public scrutiny and in their private lives.

FitzGerald said: "I’m thrilled that the first of my novels to be adapted is set in my two homes: Australia, where I was born and brought up, and Scotland, where I’ve lived for 26 years. I’m truly honoured that the Goddess of Screenwriting, Jacquelin Perske, is adapting The Cry, and that Hot Scot Claire Mundell (Synchronicity) is producing.  I can’t wait to see this."

Claire Mundell, creative director of Synchronicity Films, said: “We couldn’t be more thrilled to be working with the BBC and the outstanding talent of our writer Jacquelin Perske, to bring Helen FitzGerald’s compelling novel The Cry to the small screen in what will be an emotional rollercoaster of a story.”

The series will be filmed in Scotland and Australia next year.