Mr Micawber gets own series

FIRST IT was Jane Austen and a passion for petticoats, then it was the turn of the bard when everyone wanted to watch Shakespeare. Now it is Charles Dickens.

The journalist who created some of the most memorable characters in fiction is fashionable again, with at least three major productions of his work in progress following the success of several recent adaptations.

The BBC announced yesterday that it is spending pounds 4m on a lavish production of David Copperfield with an A-list cast including Dawn French, Bob Hoskins, Sir Ian McKellen and Zoe Wanamaker.

Yorkshire Television also announced yesterday it is to develop a four- part drama series for ITV based on the Copperfield character Mr Micawber, the idle landlord who wishes for a better life but cannot be bothered to do anything about it.

Both productions follow the successful BBC adaptations of Our Mutual Friend starring Anna Friel, Martin Chuzzlewit and Great Expectations, with Charlotte Rampling as the ravaged Miss Havisham.

ITV announced recently that a production of Oliver Twist by Alan Bleasdale will be the centrepiece of its autumn schedule.

But a spokesman for the BBC insisted it was all coincidence. "The BBC has always done a lot of Dickens over the years and the corporation is renowned for its period drama. It is possible that the television programmes will lead to a number of films being made as happened with Jane Austen, but we are not doing this simply because he is fashionable."

Andrew Xavier, the acting curator of the Charles Dickens Museum in Bloomsbury, London, said it was high time the author was in favour again. "Dickens has always been popular with some people but I'm not sure that children are so interested in him nowadays and that ought to change," he said. "There is no doubt his work has stood the test of time. There is a lot of comedy and his observations of the different strands of British life are wonderful."

The BBC's adaptation has been pencilled into the Christmas schedules. The role of David Copperfield has been taken by one of the cast's few unknowns, Ciaran McMenamin, and David's schoolfriend, Steerforth, will be played by Harry Lloyd, Dickens' 15-year-old great-great-great grandson. Other cast members includeTrevor Eve, Michael Elphick, and Dame Maggie Smith.

TV's Love Affair With Dickens

Other works by Charles Dickens that have been recently adapted for television include:

Martin Chuzzlewit

Lavish pounds 6m BBC adaptation starred Keith Allen as the villainous Jonas, Julia Sawalha, of Absolutely Fabulous fame, as Mercy and Paul Schofield in the title role. A staple of BBC 2's Monday night schedule in 1994, heralded the Dickens revival.

Our Mutual Friend

Yet another BBC version, this series starred the former Brookside actress Anna Friel, Paul McGann and Margaret Tyzack. Received widespread critical acclaim.

Great Expectations

The BBC has done four versions, in 1959, 1967, 1981 and earlier this year. The most recent, arguably the darkest, starred Charlotte Rampling as an unusually sexy Miss Havisham.

Oliver Twist

Adapted by Alan Bleasdale and scheduled for the autumn, this ITV production has courted controversy by eliminating Fagin's Jewishness - he has become a magician from Prague.

David Copperfield

This perennial favourite has already been done three times by the BBC but the latest production will be the most lavish. Adapted by Adrian Hodges, Auntie's new version is aimed squarely at a family audience and will, insiders say, have a "heart-warming" appeal.