The Hardacres writers explain why they made 2 big changes from books

Speaking about the changes they made to the books and why some of them were important for the show, McLaughlan said: "Our version is definitely inspired by the book as opposed to an adaptation, because one of the initial things that we changed immediately is that the book is very focused around Sam.

"And what we saw immediately is that we wanted to do a family ensemble show, so immediately you need to move it out and away from Sam. We wanted to make Sam and Mary a team. And we wanted to write about a successful marriage, because again, that’s not something that you see on TV very often, a couple working together.

"And then from that, it very naturally expanded out. There are two brothers, but they are very young in the books, so we needed to age them up a bit. We also needed to bring in more feminine energy, so that’s where the idea for [new characters] Ma and Liza came from. I think the family came to us very quickly actually."

Roberts continued: "Yes, it did. And the other major departure from the saga as told in the books is that Skelton spends a lot of time following the Hardacres as they gradually build their wealth.

"And we weren’t as convinced that that was where the story was. So, in our version, the Hardacres make their money very quickly and the story really is how they cope with that rather than how they get there."

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In terms of the pacing of the series versus the book, there's a marked difference there too. As McLaughlan explains: "We’ve slowed the pace down massively as well. The first book actually covers an enormous amount of time, and ours only covers a couple of months in the first series.

"And because of what we’ve done with the family in terms of the expansion and wanting to put the focus on Sam and Mary, we knew we had to move far away from what the book had done originally in order to follow those characters on their own journeys and create more room for them."

The new series is described as a "bold, gutsy ensemble family drama full of heart" and is a rags-to-riches tale, following the Hardacres as they go from their regular life working on a fish dock to being propelled into the high society of 1890s Yorkshire.

The cast of The Hardacres includes Claire Cooper (The Continental), Liam McMahon (Hunger), Julie Graham (Time), Adam Little (Ackley Bridge), Zak Ford-Williams (Better) and newcomer Shannon Lavelle.

Speaking about the books being adapted "quite significantly" for the new series, director Rachel Carey said: "I was not aware of the Hardacre novels actually. I am a big fan of fiction from that era, like Wilkie Collins and so forth. So, I was intrigued when I heard it was based on a book.

"However, I didn't read them subsequently because I knew the writers had adapted them quite significantly so I wanted to focus on the script rather than immerse myself in too much background material. Now, I probably will read them at some stage to amuse myself with the differences."

She also added: "Apart from being entertained and being part of a great story in a journey for a family, I hope it brings a sense of connectedness to the past, and a realisation that time passes, but things don’t really change. People are people, some struggles and joys remain the same. I want The Hardacres to resonate with the audience and leave them wanting to know what happens next."

The Hardacres begins on Channel 5 on Monday 7th October at 9pm.

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