Spall and son star in ITV Forster adaptation

Timothy Spall and his son Rafe are to appear together for the first time as father and son in a new ITV version of EM Forster’s A Room with A View.

Spall will play Mr Emerson with Rafe as his son George in the adaptation by Andrew Davies, the man behind Bleak House and The Line of Beauty.

EM Forster's book was adapted into a film by Merchant Ivory in 1985, which made stars of a young Julian Sands, who played George, and Helena Bonham Carter, who played Lucy Honeychurch. The story follows Lucy as she returns to Florence after the First World War looking for Italian adventure, only to find herself surrounded by English tourists.

Elaine Cassidy will play Lucy, and Sophie Thompson will play her chaperone and cousin, Charlotte Bartlett, a role made famous by Maggie Smith in the film.

Producer Eileen Quinn said: "This is a passionate, romantic story, a ‘versione caldo’ of the classic novel which celebrates our heroine’s quest for liberty and adventure at the end of the Edwardian era."

A co-production with WGBH Boston, and filmed on location in Florence and London, the drama is produced by Quinn and Dave Edwards, directed by Nick Renton, and was ordered by the ITV Drama Commissioning team.

ITV’s director of drama, Laura Mackie, said: "Andrew Davies’ adaptation, as ever, captures the spirit of Forster’s most memorable novel but delivers it in a fresh, engaging way for a modern audience."