Author passed on Hollywood offer

Author Kate Mosse has said she turned down Hollywood's offer to adapt her best-selling book because film bosses focused too heavily on her male characters. The writer rejected Tinseltown in favour of a British TV adaptation of Labyrinth. "When Labyrinth became a worldwide hit, we did have conversations with Hollywood but my agent and I didn't feel you could ever do it [justice] in a couple of hours," she said. "Everyone was talking about the male lead, but the leads are women. So we turned down Hollywood." The Channel 4 drama stars John Hurt, Vanessa Kirby, Janet Suzman and Jessica Brown Findlay and the author clinched a cameo role as a tour guide. "I have a few lines at the end," she said. "It's my first acting role and I'm comfortably sure it will be my last. "The actors were both standing with me, looking at me as I was talking. It was an extraordinary sense of my characters coming to life." The series, which was executive produced by Ridley Scott and his late brother Tony, will air on Channel 4 next year. :: Citadel by Kate Mosse is published by Orion, priced £18.99. Available now.

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