MUMBAI: UK pubcaster BBC has announced a new version of the classic Bram Stoker 1897 novel, Dracula. Filming begins this month on location in and around the West Country for transmission later in the year on BBC One.

Marc Warren plays the title role. David Suchet who is best known for the television series Poirot plays vampire scholar and Dracula's nemesis, Van Helsing.

Returning to the original novel for his inspiration, Stewart Harcourt's script draws both on elements of Bram Stoker's own life and Victorian society to give this version of the vampire classic a new, modern sensibility.

Executive producer Julie Gardner said, "Stewart Harcourt's adaptation is a visceral, sexy and bold re-telling of Bram Stoker's classic chiller which will blow the cobwebs off traditional period drama. And we've brought together a cast of thrilling young talent to bring it to life."