Netflix has just quietly added a forgotten BBC masterpiece-Pierra Willix-Entertainment – Metro

An old BBC drama has been one of the most popular shows on Netflix this week (Picture: BBC/ Kudos/ Hal Shinnie)

A 2015 BBC drama based on a best-selling novel has quietly been added to Netflix nine years after it first hit screens.

The three-part series Capital was an adaptation of the novel of the same name by John Lanchester.

It followed the residents of a road in South London as the value of each house in the street is approaching £2 million.

They then begin to receive postcards with the unsettling message: ‘We want what you have.’

The residents include wealthy banker Roger Yount (played by Toby Jones) who have recently bought their homes, as well as people who have lived in the street since before its houses became so valuable, such as elderly widow Petunia Howe (played by Gemma Jones) who moved there as a young bride.

While some initially ignore the postcards, others become concerned they are a threat.

Capital follows the residents of a street in London who start receiving unsettling letters (Picture: BBC)

The series also featured Fool Me Once star Adeel Akhtar, God’s Own Country’s Gemma Jones, Deadpool & Wolverine’s Wunmi Mosaku, and The Full Monty’s Lesley Sharp.

Since being released on Netflix this week, it’s become one of the most-watched shows in the UK, making the top 10.

Speaking at the time of the series’ release, Toby shared more details about his character and why he was drawn to the role.

‘Roger isn’t an evil banker, he’s a slightly complacent banker. He’s become used to a certain way of life and has a self-imposed pressure to live that way. He spends a lot of money on things that other people don’t spend money on — for example fixtures and fittings — but that is normal to him and his wife. He is not totally in charge of his life or his work,’ he said.

It starred Toby Jones, Adeel Akhtar and Gemma Jones (Picture: BBC)

‘What really attracted me to the part was that he’s a very well-educated, functioning human being on one level, who has obeyed the rules and earned a lot of money; but on another level, something is happening to him internally that he doesn’t have the language to articulate.

‘Something is shifting and changing within him, and what happens to him in the story makes him realise that his life is not all it might be. It’s a creeping dissatisfaction, a creeping sense of loss and directionlessness. He has no way of expressing that or even understanding it himself. He’s not self-reflective in that way and lives with someone who seems to be totally un-self-reflective too.’

At the time of the show’s release, The Telegraph review said ‘the acting makes this production sing’ while the Radio Times labelled it a ‘sparkling and hugely relevant new drama’.

In 2016 it also won the best TV movie/mini series award at the Emmy Awards.

Capital is streaming on Netflix.

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