The BBC is currently putting the finishing touches to a new adaptation of Victor Hugo’s novel of poverty and revolution in 19th-century Paris, Les Miserables (1862).
Les Miserables was last seen in 2012 in Tom Hooper’s adaptation of the 1980 musical interpretation of Hugo’s story by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg.
Legendary French stars Jean-Paul Belmondo, Lino Ventura and Jean Gabin all led versions of their own in 1995, 1982 and 1958 respectively.
The last such was a French miniseries in 2000 by Josee Dayan, featuring Gerard Depardieu, John Malkovich and Virginie Ledoyen.