The 79-year-old revealed that Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, who was involved in his adaptation of the Tolstoy drama, was already on board and that they were soon due to begin talks with the BBC, which he claimed would be “silly” not to take it.
In the meantime, he admitted that the dramatic denouement to War and Peace was all but guaranteed to have left viewers in “floods of tears” as they bore witness to bloody and brutal executions and endured the torturous deaths of several main characters, including Prince Andrei, Helene, her brother Anatole, Count Rostov and his youngest son Petya.
“It’s a hard watch in a way because there is so much sadness,” Davies conceded. “But there is a wonderful conclusion so it’s heart breaking and then heart-warming.”
The episode, which packed in so much drama it prompted the BBC to grant its first extension to a Sunday evening finale, giving it an additional 20 minutes, was expected to provoke a huge reaction from viewers.
The six-part series proved a hit with critics and was enthusiastically received by viewers, with an average of 7.2 million watching each episode despite claims of historical inaccuracy and complaints about male nudity.
But those left wondering what they will do with their Sunday evenings may take heart in the news that Davies, who was behind critically acclaimed versions of Pride and Prejudice, Bleak House and Vanity Fair, is determined to be back with an adaptation of Les Miserables, Hugo’s classic tale of revolution in 19th–century France, like none other.
“It’s another big epic story and I thinking people will be surprised that there is so much more to it than they maybe realise,” he told The Telegraph.
“It’s an immensely powerful story about appalling levels of poverty and deprivation and how people transcend it, it’s about redemption and revenge and the extraordinary relationship between Jean Valjean and a little girl he brings up.
“The pursuit of Javert, the indomitable detective who lets it get personal is classic film noir.”
Davies said he sincerely hoped that those who adored the 1980s musical would enjoy the story without the music, admitting that he was no fan of the hugely popular stage or film versions.
“I hated, particularly, the film of the musical because the singing was so appalling,” he said.
“And I did not really find myself bewitched by the stage musical but then, so many people can’t be wrong.”
Davies admitted he had not yet started on a script but had mapped out a structure for what he wanted to do with it the story.
He acknowledged that he would love it to be broadcast on BBC1’s coveted Sunday evening slot but was careful not to get ahead of himself when talks with the corporation had not yet begun.
“Harvey Weinstein said we could do this with or without the BBC,” he said. “There are so many places you can go these days. But I would always want to be on the BBC on a Sunday night. It’s my absolute favourite place to be.
“They would be silly not to go for it but they might think it’s been done too many times.
“Weinstein is keen to co-produce which means bringing in a huge chunk of American money, which is key as it needs to be done well.”
Davies is also half way through an adaptation of Ruth Rendell’s murder mystery The House of Stairs, which she wrote as Barbara Vine and which has been commissioned by Carnival Films as a three-part series for ITV.
