RESIDENT EVIL - RESIDENT EVIL STAR LEADS ANNE FRANK SERIES

RESIDENT EVIL STAR LEADS ANNE FRANK SERIES

The Diary of Anne Frank will be back on British TV screens and will see Resident Evil: Extinction star Iain Glen play Anne's father Otto.

The BBC has confirmed that a new adaptation of the iconic tale will be broadcast early next year.

Made by Darlow Smithson Productions, the new series will be shown in five parts on consecutive nights on BBC One.

It has been adapted by British writer Deborah Moggach, who saw her screenplay for the Pride and Prejudice film nominated for a Bafta after its release in 2005.

Alongside Scottish actor Glen, who has also appeared in Kingdom of Heaven, Green Wing's Tamsin Greig plays Anne's mother Edith and her sister Margot Frank will be played by Cape Wrath's Felicity Jones.

CBBC actor Ellie Kendrick has been chosen to play Anne herself, having recently appeared in children's programme In 2 Minds.

The series will cast a new light on the diaries Anne recorded as she and her Jewish family hid from the Nazis during the occupation of the Netherlands during the second world war.

Her journals are said to be the second most-well-read non-fiction literature aside from the Bible.

Speaking of the new series, BBC commissioning editor Polly Hill said: "We are delighted to be bringing this fresh adaptation of The Diary Of Anne Frank to screen.

"Despite the horrors of the time and the ultimate tragedy of this family, Anne was a teenage girl, recognisable the world over, having to cope with the usual problems of growing up - albeit in extraordinary circumstances. We hope this drama will bring Anne alive to viewers of all generations."

Otto Frank was the only member of his family to survive the German concentration camps.