Dracula viewers hail ‘bloody stunning and horrifying’ BBC show as best adaptation to date

No-nonsense nun Sister Agatha was also very popular with fans

Ellie Harrison
Thursday 02 January 2020 10:45 GMT
Comments
Dracula: New BBC series trailer released

The BBC’s new adaptation of Dracula has gone down very well with viewers, who have described it as “bloody stunning” and “horrifying”, with some going so far as to call it the “best adaptation” of the book to date.

Written by Sherlock creators Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, the drama stars Claes Bang as Dracula. It was awarded four stars by The Independent’s critic Ed Cumming, who said it "adds fresh wit and energy to the vampire legend".

The series’ first episode was equally popular with viewers, who took to Twitter to praise the show.

“Well, that was GREAT!!!” wrote one user. "@Markgatiss and Steven Moffat might have created the best adaptation of #Dracula in a very long time. It captured all that classic gothic goodness but with some great modern twists and surprises...plus some nasty gruey body horror to boot. LOVED it.”

“Well needless to say I bloody adored #Dracula,” wrote another. “Possibly the best incarnation of the Count I've ever seen it was drenched in blood and was bloody stunning. Moffat and Gatiss have made 2020 for me. Horror television is SAVED.”

One viewer said the show was “equally horrifying as it was tongue in cheek”.

Many fans of the drama also applauded the character Sister Agatha, a no-nonsense nun played by Dolly Wells who spends the episode listening to the story of the man who has escaped from Dracula, Jonathan Harker.

“Sister Agatha is already Woman of the year,” wrote one audience member.

Another quoted one of Sister Agatha's best lines from the episode: “Like many women my age, I'm trapped in a loveless marriage, maintaining appearances in order to keep a roof over my head.”

Dracula continues on Thursday 2 January at 9pm on BBC1.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in