Adolescence writer Jack Thorne reveals why BBC’s new Lord of the Flies sticks to an all-male cast – and explains his “sensitive” adaptation of classic

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In the summer of 2024, Jack Thorne found himself traveling between filming locations for two different TV dramas – one was shot on a tropical island near Malaysia, and the other in Yorkshire, England. When asked which place he liked better, Thorne jokingly said he loved them both equally, playfully avoiding picking a favorite.

Both projects explored similar unsettling themes – the possibility of psychopathic tendencies in young boys. One was a school assignment focusing on the Emmy-winning Netflix drama Adolescence, and the other involved filming a new four-part BBC adaptation of William Golding’s classic novel Lord of the Flies – the book that helped Golding win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1983 – in Southeast Asia.

The idea of “toxic masculinity” – often used to describe harmful behaviors associated with traditional ideas about what it means to be a man – isn’t limited to modern examples. It can also be seen in the characters from William Golding’s Lord of the Flies. Jamie Miller, the 13-year-old murderer in Adolescence, embodies this concept, but so do the boys stranded on an island in Golding’s novel: the intelligent Piggy, the proud Ralph, the popular Jack, the quiet Simon, and the threatening Roger. They all struggle for power after their plane crashes while evacuating them from a potential nuclear attack on Britain.

Thorne notes that the phrase ‘toxic masculinity’ is a bit strange. He believes simply using the word ‘masculinity’ is more effective, and points out that William Golding explores this concept with great insight.

Thorne first encountered Lord of the Flies as a schoolboy. He remembers the book had an orange cover and a stamp from his mother’s school, Portway English Department, because she was a substitute teacher and kept the copy. He jokingly calls it a ‘stolen edition’! He’s revisited the novel many times as an adult and found his feelings about the characters have completely changed.

As a child, I identified with Simon in Lord of the Flies. But looking back as an adult, I now see that judging Jack as heartless was wrong. Golding actually shows compassion for all the boys. The book is often used to represent big ideas like the origin of evil or societal breakdown, but it’s more nuanced than that. What you see is a group unraveling due to a series of small choices. It’s really about the roles we take on and how we’re influenced by our upbringing.

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Jack Thorne originally began writing a novel for Channel 4, but the rights to adapt it weren’t available. Later, Joel Wilson, a producer Jack had collaborated with on the shows Cast Offs and Glue, invited him to lunch. Joel had the rights to a popular new book and asked Jack to adapt it, but Jack wasn’t interested. Joel then asked what book would interest him, and Jack immediately suggested Lord of the Flies.

Thorne remembers things a little differently. She recalls Joel asking her what her favorite book was – likely while he was getting potatoes out of the oven – and her answering ‘Lord of the Flies.’ She doesn’t remember him suggesting another book beforehand. She also acknowledges that memories can be unreliable, and jokes that Joel might even claim they didn’t have roast potatoes that day.

Understanding the various takes on this conversation is important because Thorne and Wilson proposed a four-part series to the Golding estate (represented by the novelist’s daughter, Judy) where each episode would tell the story from the perspective of a different boy: Piggy, Jack, Simon, and Ralph.

The writer employed a technique similar to what they did in both Adolescence and National Treasure, their Channel 4 drama about a fallen performer. They learned to write from their time on Skins, focusing on understanding characters’ perspectives. For example, in Lord of the Flies, showing things from Jack’s point of view in the second episode changes how audiences see him later on, because it reveals his inner struggles and pain.

This way of telling stories highlights how people often disagree about what actually happened, even with personal or historical events. As an example, the author recently experienced a family disagreement at Christmas, with six different accounts of who was at fault and who should be upset. This is why they enjoy exploring multiple viewpoints, as it creates compelling drama.

The creators also chose to keep the story focused solely on boys, despite current expectations for gender balance in television. Thorne explains that he and his co-creator discussed this extensively, believing that adding female characters would fundamentally alter the narrative. He observed that at around age nine, boys and girls often demonstrate different levels of emotional maturity, with girls typically navigating more complex social dynamics while boys focus on physical challenges – something he noticed while watching his son and his friends play.

I was fascinated to learn how they found the perfect location for the series! Apparently, getting the go-ahead from the Golding estate and securing funding from the BBC and Stan was just the beginning. They needed a truly isolated tropical island – one where you couldn’t see any other land, but had a dramatic mountain and lush jungle right behind the beach. The director, Marc Munden, told me they initially looked all over Australia, but it just wasn’t the right fit. Eventually, after considering Mauritius, they finally discovered what they were looking for in Malaysia.

Some people might assume we dragged out the search for the perfect tropical spot, hopping between beautiful places until we finally found one we liked. But actually, we spent a lot of time mistakenly wandering into other people’s wedding and honeymoon recordings!

The team ultimately chose Langkawi, a resort island in Malaysia, as their filming location, using boat trips to a deserted island for actual shooting. A major hurdle was finding actors for every key role – they needed children between 10 and 13 years old. “That was a real concern,” says Thorne. “Unlike Adolescence, where Owen [Cooper] had adult actors to work with, these kids will be largely on their own. The casting process was extremely challenging.”

Finding the young actors proved challenging for casting directors Nina Gold and Martin Ware. As Ware explains, they weren’t looking for famous child stars; they specifically wanted newcomers, meaning there were no easy choices. Gold adds that most of the children in the cast were completely new to acting.

The filmmakers reviewed around 7,000 boys for the roles, scouting 100 schools directly and accepting video submissions from others. They also asked for short introductory videos through social media. While the boys stranded in Golding’s original novel are mostly from private schools – suggesting the government may have prioritized saving them – Gold explains that they aimed to move away from that social class focus in the film.

Finding the right actor for Piggy, a character often ridiculed for his weight, asthma, and glasses in the book, proved the most challenging part of casting. When the project was announced, there was industry speculation that the BBC adaptation would significantly alter Piggy’s appearance, making him tall, thin, and able-bodied. While the character’s description from the novel remains, the way Piggy is treated raises important questions about sensitivity today. As Ware explains, the production team was very mindful of this. They consulted with a child psychologist and, when looking at potential actors, considered how Piggy would be perceived on a school noticeboard. They even shared scripts with the parents of young actors being considered.

Honestly, finding the right actor for Piggy was a real challenge. We finally landed on David McKenna, a young boy from Northern Ireland, and he’s incredible. He reminds me a bit of Cooper in ‘Adolescence’ – he has this amazing emotional maturity for his age. I remember Ware telling me they first saw his audition through a slightly blurry video message online, but even through the poor quality, there was just something special about his energy and attitude that really caught our attention. Thorne admitted they were really struggling to picture who could play Piggy until they found David – it was such a relief!

Working with such a young group of actors, you really have to go back to basics – the first thing I always tell them is, ‘Don’t look at the camera!’ But honestly, after you get past that, their natural talent really shines, and you get some wonderfully unexpected performances. It’s a really joyful experience.

Wilson points out that not a single scene needed to be reshot because anyone forgot their lines, which is quite remarkable, even for professional actors.

Everyone loved Lord of the Flies, but it probably won’t compare to the incredible reaction to Adolescence – the viewing numbers were huge, it was debated in Parliament, and the media went wild! I’ve seen so many writers struggle after a big hit, feeling like they could never top it. But that hasn’t happened to Thorne. He’s told me he’s completely driven by work; he says he doesn’t have any other skills and is happiest just sitting in his shed, writing and hoping for the best.

Authors

Mark Lawson

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2026-02-02 21:09