BBC launches literature hunt

The BBC says it wants to inspire people to read

The BBC is launching a survey to find the nation's favourite book in the wake of the success of the Great Britons poll.

The Big Read will see celebrities fronting shows about novels to encourage viewers to read and vote.

We want to give everybody the opportunity to be passionately involved in the pleasure that books can bring

Jane Root
BBC Two controller

BBC Two says it wants to inspire viewers to pick up novels and "breathe life into books in classrooms and homes across the nation".

Another major BBC Two project will see an online competition to find the UK's best new poet launched.

Classic love poems will also be turned into mini-dramas starring actors including Christopher Lee, Amanda Holden and Prunella Scales.

The series, called Essential Poems (To Fall In Love With), is described as "an innovative visual anthology" to coincide with Valentine's Day.

Poems by Andrew Marvell, William Shakespeare and Wendy Cope will be among those adapted.

Winston Churchill triumphed in Great Britons

The projects are part of BBC Two's £100m winter line-up, which was announced on Tuesday.

The Big Read is billed as "Britain's biggest ever celebration of the joy and magic of reading literature".

BBC Two controller Jane Root said Great Britons had proved that viewers could get as excited about big factual events as they did about entertainment shows.

More than 1.6 million viewers voted to find the greatest Briton who ever lived, with Winston Churchill eventually coming out on top.

"I think viewers will be just as enthused by a programme about literature, as books have a very personal effect on their readers and mean something different to each person," Ms Root said.

Marion and Geoff is being expanded to half-hour episodes

"We want to give everybody the opportunity to be passionately involved in the pleasure that books can bring."

As well as its literary projects, BBC Two has announced a range of other new drama, entertainment and factual shows.

Cult comedy Marion and Geoff is being expended into a full series, as is topical satire Double Take.

The lives of Slobodan Milosevic, Hitler and Stalin is among the subjects tackled in a range of documentaries.

Science fiction fans are eagerly awaiting Stephen Spielberg's latest series, Taken, while hit drama 24 returns for a second series.