Steven Moffat has admitted "having an evil lead character" in ‘Dracula’ has been tough to write.
The former ‘Doctor Who’ showrunner – who has created and penned the upcoming BBC and Netflix drama with his ‘Sherlock’ collaborator Mark Gatiss – has opened up about the challenges they have faced with their adaptation of Bram Stoker’s iconic novel.
He told RadioTimes.com: "There’s lots of things that are challenging about ‘Dracula’.
"Having an evil lead character is actually really difficult. That’s been the main challenge I think. But how we’ve handled, that you’ll have to wait and see."
Despite the challenges, Gatiss insisted it has been an "exciting" progress, and confirmed Count Dracula himself will be "the hero of his own story", rather than being portrayed as a "shadowy presence".
He added: "It’s been very exciting though. Because we sort of made a promise to ourselves and the people who are making it, paying for it, that we’d make Dracula the hero of his own story, and less of a shadowy presence.
"And that’s a really clever idea, but we had to make good on it!"
The three-part series – which will be made up of a trio of feature length episodes – is based on Bram Stoker’s iconic novel, with Claes Bang playing the titular vampire.
The new adaptation starts in Transylvania in 1897, with the bloodthirsty count drawing up plans against Victorian London.
Claes previously said: "I am thrilled to be taking on the role of Dracula, especially when the script is in the hands of the incredible talents of Steven Moffat, Mark Gatiss and the team responsible for ‘Sherlock’. I’m so excited that I get to dig in to this iconic and super-interesting character.
"Yes he’s evil, but there’s also so much more to him, he’s charismatic, intelligent, witty and sexy. I realise that there’s a lot to live up to with all the amazing people that have played him over the years, but I feel so privileged, to be taking on this incredible character."
Steven Moffat admits Dracula has been a challenge
