Steven Moffat says Count Dracula is "bi-homicidal".
The co-creator of the upcoming three part BBC One adaptation of Bram Stoker’s iconic horror story ‘Dracula’ – who leads the project alongside fellow ‘Sherlock’ showrunner Mark Gatiss – has opened up on the bloodsucking character’s history and explained he isn’t picky with his victims.
Speaking during a Q&A at the series launch, he said: "Dracula’s always fed off men and women, always. In the 1958 [Hammer Horror movie], the person that Christopher Lee looks most turned on by is Peter Cushing.
"He’s not actually having sex with anyone, he’s drinking their blood, he’s bi-homicidal… He’s killing them, he’s not dating them!"
The creative pair didn’t want to do a modern day take on ‘Dracula’, and instead they were keen to stay true to certain aspects of the source material.
They even considered driving the character – played by Claes Bang – a moustache, which would have been unfamiliar to anyone who hadn’t actually read the novel itself.
Steven added: "[It’s] the least successful facial hair in history! He has a moustache in the book! Nobody has ever given a fuck about that.
"[Laughter] James Bond has a scar in the Ian Fleming books on his face, not even on the book jackets did he have that.
"It just tells you as a creator, no matter what you say, Dracula does not have a moustache."
The new adaptation – which will also be broadcast on Netflix around the world – starts in Transylvania in 1897, with the bloodthirsty count drawing up plans against Victorian London.
And on Halloween (31.10.19), Gatiss hinted a second series could already been in the pipeline even before the first run has aired.
He teased: "It’s very hard to kill a vampire. Do you know what I mean? What they do is resurrect."
‘Dracula’ will air on BBC One at 9pm on consecutive nights from January 1-3.
Steven Moffat says Dracula is ‘bi-homicidal’
