TV drama adaptations: High art or low figures?

The TV-adaptation of Mantel’s novels excelled, but steadily lost viewing figures,, writes Richard Fitzpatrick.

The guillotine fell last Wednesday night on the final episode of Wolf Hall, the TV adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s Man Booker Prize-winning historical novels.

The BBC decided to condense her two novels — Wolf Hall and Bring up the Bodies — into six hours of drama. It delivered a fine effort although dwindling audience figures — it lost a third of its viewers by episode four — brought the broadcaster some criticism.