The Widow by Fiona Barton optioned for TV

If you’ve already read The Widow by Fiona Barton, you’ll understand why we think it’s one of the most exciting debuts heading our way next year – and it’ll also come as no surprise that the TV rights have just been optioned by Playground Television.

We’ve all seen him: the man – the monster – staring from the front page of every newspaper, accused of a terrible crime. But what about her? The woman who grips his arm on the courtroom stairs – the wife who stands by him? The Widow tells the story of a woman whose husband was accused of abducting a young girl. After his death, she is hounded by journalists desperate to hear her side of the story.

Author Fiona Barton, an International Media Trainer, was once a senior writer at the Daily Mail, news editor at the Daily Telegraph and chief reporter at The Mail on Sunday where she won Reporter of the Year at the British Press Awards. “As a journalist, I spent a lot of time in court. In the big cases – notorious and terrible crimes that led the news – I would find myself watching the wives of those standing in the dock and wondering what they really knew, or allowed themselves to know. I wanted to understand how you cope with the idea that your husband – the man you chose – may be a monster. The Widow grew out of that fascination and has given me the chance to write my first novel.

Creative Director of Playground Television Sophie Gardiner said: “We want to make The Widow a classy, intelligent piece of television that shines a fresh light on a story that is in our nation’s DNA. We plan to produce drama that maintains the integrity of the novel, that tells a great story but also understands the joy of a cleverly unfolding narrative and reaches out to a large audience.”

The Widow is due to publish in Spring 2016. We can’t wait!