jeffrey tayor of stagescreen productions had the idea of a modern version of "strange case of dr jekyll and mr hyde" in the mid-1990s. he attempted to get it produced in the united states, but all three attempts fell through. he returned to england and joined with hartswood films when elaine cameron was looking for ideas for a supernatural thriller. cameron approached steven moffat for a script. a six-part series was commissioned by the bbc's jane tranter and john yorke in november 2005.