BBC to adapt Neil Gaiman's Anansi Boys

Gaiman's The Ocean at the End of the Lane was voted Book of the Year last year

The BBC is adapting Neil Gaiman's fantasy novel Anansi Boys into a TV mini-series.

The tale, which will be produced by Red - the company behind Last Tango in Halifax - follows the lives of the two sons of African spider-god Anansi.

Gaiman, whose 2001 novel American Gods, is also being developed for US television, said he was "thrilled".

Confirming the series on his blog, Gaiman said he hoped Red would "make an absolutely brilliant faithful version".

Gaiman is the creator of the celebrated Sandman comic series and the author of best-selling titles such as Coraline and The Ocean at the End of the Lane.

American Gods, which was previously in development with HBO "for several years", has been picked up by Freemantle Media after three different script versions were all rejected by HBO and the option eventually expired.

'Smoother run'

"As to where you will be able to see it, who is going to be in it, who will be writing or show-running, none of these things have yet been settled," wrote Gaiman, announcing the project's move to Fremantle.

"But it already looks like it's going to be a smoother run developing it than it had at HBO, so I am very pleased."

He claims Fremantle will have a more difficult task adapting American Gods "as they are going to have to open [it] up into something bigger than the book".

Gaiman will executive produce the series.

Red, whose hits have included Scott and Bailey and Queer as Folk told the Guardian they were "very excited", but stressed that Anansi Boys remained in "very early development".