Just in time for referendum, William Wallace the TV series

Entitled Wallace, it is an international co-production involving STV Productions and a group of other companies based in Los Angeles.

STV said the show promised to be a “thrilling and dramatic biopic, charting the life of one of history’s most iconic characters.”

Describing it as being stylistically similar to the popular television dramas Spartacus and Game of Thrones, STV has said that Wallace will depict its hero’s back-story, the years he spent trying to unify Scotland, his loves and losses, his legendary battles with King Edward Longshanks and his relationship with his rival, Robert the Bruce.

The show will be written by Mick Davis, a Scottish American screen writer and producer, whose credits include the US TV drama The Eleventh Hour.

It is based on an idea from Kent Dalian and Seoras Wallace, who was an adviser on the Oscar-winning Wallace biopic Braveheart.

Alan Clements, director of content at STV, who is to be an executive producer for the show, said the current political climate was ideal for such a series.

“This was a turbulent time in Scotland’s history, in which William Wallace had a starring and pivotal role,” he said.

“We plan to delve deep into his character and explore his passions, bringing parts of history to life in a spectacular and raw depiction.

“With all eyes on Scotland, this also seems to be a very appropriate time to tell this story in more depth.”

The series will also received financial investment from the Scottish Government’s arts body Creative Scotland.

Caroline Parkinson, director of creative development for Creative Scotland, said: “This is an excellent outcome for our investment in STV.

“A strong story, with good international distribution in place, it’s a great opportunity to showcase Scotland’s production talent in a series format.”

Despite having been written about and depicted many times over the centuries, relatively little is known about Wallace.

His life was first recorded in 1477 by the poet Blind Harry, but Wallace experts say he took liberties with his story to create a “magazine version”. His version was based on oral accounts describing events 170 years later, filling in gaps and fabricating other parts – “borrowing” from the exploits of others and attributed to Wallace – to give people what they wanted to hear.

Duncan Fenton, convener of the Society of William Wallace, dedicated to upholding his memory, said that while they were keen to see him represented as accurately as possible, they were realistic about Wallace’s public image.

“The academics destroyed Braveheart when it first came out, but they didn’t realise it was a catalyst for people eager to learn. You couldn’t get book on Wallace out of the library for love or money after the film came out,” he said.

“As long as it doesn’t do a hatchet job on him and as long as it doesn’t go over the top – because I do think the public are becoming more discerning about these things and can tell when there’s been emphasis on one aspect or another.”

Mr Fenton said that the society had been approached by the show’s producers and it had offered to give advice on historical accuracy.

The show is in the very early stages of production, with financing still to be completed and casting to be done. However, it is expected that it will be broadcast sometime around 2013 and 2014.