Benedict Cumberbatch starring in ‘Downton’ exec’s ‘The Child in Time’ adaptation

The BBC’s new adaptation of The Child in Time has begun filming.

Stephen Butchard’s adaptation of Ian McEwan’s award-winning novel for BBC One and Masterpiece on PBS is executive producer by Downton Abbey‘s Rebecca Eaton.

The book won the Whitbread Novel Award in 1987.

The Child in Time is described as “a lyrical and heart-breaking exploration of love, loss and the power of things unseen.”

The one-off 90-minute drama’s cast will be led by Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch, alongside Kelly Macdonald (Boardwalk Empire), Stephen Campbell Moore (The Go-Between) and Saskia Reeves (Shetland).

Executive producer Helen Gregory commented: “I’m so delighted to have such a talented cast join Benedict, Julian and the team and I’m very much looking forward to seeing them bring Stephen’s script to screen.”

The official synopsis reads: “Set two years after his daughter went missing, The Child in Time follows Stephen Lewis (Benedict Cumberbatch), a children’s author, as he struggles to find purpose in his life without her. His wife Julie (Kelly Macdonald) has left him and his best friends Charles (Stephen Campbell Moore) and Thelma (Saskia Reeves) have retired to the countryside, battling demons of their own. With tenderness and insight, the film explores the dark territory of a marriage devastated, the loss of childhood, the fluidity of time, grief, hope and acceptance.”