Dracula RISES

Claes Bang stars as the legendary vampire in a dark new version of the Gothic chiller from the creators of Sherlock

- Sean Marland

As the prow of a ghostly wooden ship emerges from the mist, a shadowy figure strides silently across the deck dressed in a flowing black robe…

TV&Satellite Week has been invited to Bray Studios in Berkshire, where BBC1’s new adaptation of Dracula is being filmed – and the atmosphere couldn’t be more menacing as Danish actor Claes Bang films his scenes as the terrifying Count.

Sherlock creators Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss have reunited to breathe new life into the legendary vampire, who first featured in Bram Stoker’s 1897 Gothic novel.

The three-part horror tells the story of Dracula’s journey from Transylvania and his adventures in 19th-century England, with 52-year-old Bang, who has appeared in Borgen and The Affair, donning the bloodsucker’s famous fangs.

The series begins in the late 1800s as lawyer Jonathan Harker travels to Dracula’s remote castle in Transylvania to help him purchase a property in England. However, after meeting his charismatic host, he realises that the Count is hiding a horrifying secret.

Soon after, Dracula sets sail for Whitby with a plan to feast upon the people of England – yet he finds a surprise waiting for him…

As horror fans will know, Bray Studios was the home of Hammer Films, where Christopher Lee filmed a series of classic Dracula movies in the 1950s and 1960s.

‘It was wonderful to watch Transylvania once again rise on the sound stages of Bray,’ says Gatiss. ‘And it was amazing to be able to say that Count Dracula has finally come home.’

The drama was also filmed at Orava Castle in Slovakia, and while many elements of the story stay true to the novel, there are some modern twists, with Gatiss and Moffat also promising a few laughs along the way.