BBC commissions new legal drama

The BBC has commissioned a new four-part legal drama, it has announced.

Garrow's Law, based on the life of pioneering barrister William Garrow, will star Andrew Buchan, Alun Armstrong and Lyndsey Marshall.

The series will follow real legal cases from the late 18th century, with each hour-long episode investigating a case sourced from the Old Bailey of Georgian London, where the drama is set.

"It is a great privilege to be bringing history to life for BBC One in this way. Garrow made the law as we know it," said BBC commissioning editor for arts Mark Bell.

"His is a thrilling and dramatic story, brilliantly re-imagined in this script."

Executive producer Jamie Isaacs added: "A gifted maverick, at times arrogant and with a burning sense of destiny, Garrow is driven to change the nature of the trial against a backdrop of social and political upheaval."

Filming for the new series begins in the summer in Scotland. It is expected to air later this year.