Race across the world

David Tennant travels to the far corners of the Earth in epic new drama Around the World in 80 Days

- SEAN MARLAND

NEW DRAMA

Around the World in 80 Days Boxing Day, BBC1 HD, 5.50pm & 6.40pm

David Tennant is taking us on the trip of a lifetime this Christmas when he sets off on a race around the world in a spectacular adaptation of Jules Verne’s classic adventure novel.

Set in 1872, the eight-part series opens with London gentleman Phileas Fogg beginning his attempt to be the first person in history to circumnavigate the world in just 80 days, after making an outrageous wager with his friends.

Accompanying Fogg on his adventure are his valet Passepartout and aspiring journalist Abigail ‘Fix’ Fortescue. Together, their epic journey will take them from the French Alps to the deserts of Africa and beyond as they travel by train, hot-air balloon and camel.

‘There have been so many adaptations of this classic book over the years, but what we’ve done is shake the original tale about a bit to make a story that’s relevant for now,’ says Tennant. ‘It’s an exciting romp with a ticking-clock tension, but it’s got real heart as well.’

MYSTERY MESSAGE

The first episode opens with Fogg being spurred into action after receiving a mysterious postcard branding him a coward. He’s soon setting off on a journey for which he seems woefully ill-prepared.

‘In the book, Fogg is a character who always remains calm and problem-solves as he goes. But our version of him is very different to that,’ says Tennant. ‘He’s never really left his comfort zone, so he has to find a way of stepping outside his front door at first. The man who sets out from London is not the one who may, or may not, get back home by the end of the series.’