Having tackled the Tudors, the BBC is taking on the Yorks and the Lancasters in what promises to be an epic BBC1 drama about the War of the Roses.

In a twist on the male-dominated lens through which history is frequently viewed, the epic serial about one of the bloodiest periods in English history will be told from the point of view of powerful women who “shaped their men and who shaped history in the process”.

They include queens, mothers, lovers and “witches” and the drama reminds viewers that at the time women could still be burned at the stake for sorcery.

The War of the Roses is an adaptation of Philippa Gregory’s best-selling series of books The Cousin’s War and is part of a renewed focus on BBC1 drama.

The BBC said that it is yet to cast the drama or decide the number of episodes.

Other casting announcements made by Stephenson included Matthew Macfadyen taking the lead role in Tiger Aspect’s new Jack the Ripper drama Ripper Street and Hayley Atwell to star in Willliam Boyd’s Restless.

For additional news on the new productions, see the Wednesday, January 12, 2012, edition of The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/jan/11/bbc1-war-of-the-roses-drama?newsfeed=true&mid=577