Steven Moffat has created a new crime thriller for the BBC.

Steven Moffat

Steven Moffat

The former 'Doctor Who' executive producer - who handed over the reigns to Chris Chibnall in 2017 - has teamed up with Sue Vertue to pen a four-part mini series 'Inside Man' based on a prisoner on death row in the US and a woman trapped in a cellar under an English vicarage who cross paths in the most unexpected way.

Piers Wenger, Controller of BBC Drama, said: "In our ongoing relationship with Steven and Sue (Vertue), they sent us this mini-series which Steven had written on spec and we commissioned it instantly. The script is a page-turner and grips you from the outset, and Charlotte and I couldn't resist bringing this story to BBC One."

'Inside Man', which is produced by Hartswood Films, will begin shooting in 2020.

As well as penning the script for the upcoming crime thriller, Moffat, 57, has also been working hard with Mark Gatiss on their new BBC and Netflix 'Dracula' series.

He said recently: "There's lots of things that are challenging about 'Dracula'.

"Having an evil lead character is actually really difficult. That's been the main challenge I think. But how we've handled, that you'll have to wait and see."

Despite the challenges, Gatiss, 52, insisted it has been an "exciting" progress, and confirmed Count Dracula himself will be "the hero of his own story", rather than being portrayed as a "shadowy presence".

He added: "It's been very exciting though. Because we sort of made a promise to ourselves and the people who are making it, paying for it, that we'd make Dracula the hero of his own story, and less of a shadowy presence.

"And that's a really clever idea, but we had to make good on it!"

The three-part series - which will be made up of a trio of feature length episodes - is based on Bram Stoker's iconic novel, with Claes Bang playing the titular role.

The new adaptation starts in Transylvania in 1897, with the bloodthirsty count drawing up plans against Victorian London.