Andrew Davies defends 'bonnet dramas'

In the face of plans by Ben Stephenson, the controller of BBC drama commissioning, to cut back on period dramas (known as 'bonnet dramas') Emmy award-winning adaptor, Andrew Davies, has defended the genre in the Radio Times.

"It's the revenge of the controllers. The new breed don't have anything like the power [they used to have]. So there's an element of slate-wiping and territory marking.

"I think, in terms of doing the classics, their position is somewhere near what ITV's was ten years ago. Which is, 'yes, we'll do them, but only if they're big, popular warhorses'. So it's going downmarket, I guess.

"I remain, however, fairly optimistic for the future of period drama because it's just such a popular thing. People like bonnets. I don't think you can underestimate that."