A Yorkshireman’s acclaimed tale of life in the region is finally set to be broadcast tonight after it was pulled from transmission last year.
The late John Braine’s classic novel Room At The Top about Yorkshire life in the 1940s was originally due to go out on BBC Four in April 2011 but a last minute legal dispute over the rights to the story saw it pulled.
The eagerly awaited TV adaptation of the story, which takes the shape of a two-part film, was shot on location around Leeds, Halifax, Bradford and the north-east coast in late 2010.
Location and crewing support was provided by Screen Yorkshire, the Leeds-based agency that promotes the county’s cinema, broadcast and media industries.
Andrew Craske, head of communications at Screen Yorkshire, said: “It is brilliant news that viewers will now get to see this remake of a Yorkshire classic.
“Seeing Yorkshire locations again in such an iconic story makes it one not to miss.”
The story depicts working-class Joe Lampton making his way in a post-war northern city.
In his efforts to climb the social ladder, Joe plots to marry a wealthy factory owner’s daughter, but falls in love with an older woman.
The new production, which will air on BBC Four tonight and tomorrow at 9pm, features familiar Yorkshire sites including Morley Town Hall, the Bramham Park estate and Leeds pubs the Cardigan Arms in Burley and Garden Gate in Hunslet.
Braine’s widow is known to have given her approval to the project but it was previously understood that a third party came forward claiming ownership of the story’s TV rights shortly before the April 2011 broadcast date.
Earlier this year a statement by Great Meadow Productions, which made the two-part film, said: “Great Meadow Productions is pleased to announce that the issue of copyright between Remus Films and the Estate of John Braine, represented by its agent David Higham Associates, has been resolved.”
The 1957 novel Room At The Top hit the big screen in 1959, when Laurence Harvey and Simone Signoret starred as lovers Joe Lampton and Alice Aisgill in the Oscar-winning film adaptation.
Matthew McNulty (Control) and Maxine Peake (Red Riding) fill the roles of Joe and Alice in the new drama.
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