“The word ‘great’ is used very easily these days but nobody could dispute that it’s an appropriate epithet for Dame Hilary Mantel. “A great light has gone out,” said Kosminsky. The future of the TV adaptation, however, are “secondary concerns,” he hastened to add. “The script is largely written but now is exactly the moment we would have gone to Hilary to ask her input and thoughts, and from my POV as a director, I would have sought her advice on certain specifics which would have allowed me to realize ,” said Kosminsky. Rylance is set to return as Cromwell, while “Wolf Hall” screenwriter Peter Straughan is also adapting the latest book. The BBC confirmed its plans for the new series back in 2019, when the book’s publication was first announced. Kosminsky, who recently wrote and directed Channel 4’s “The Undeclared War,” says Mantel sent him 100-page instalments of “The Mirror and the Light” as she was writing the 2020 book, with an eye on getting the TV adaptation underway. A strong case can be made to say she was the greatest living writer in the English language.” She was encyclopaedic on the sources, and spent five years researching the subject before putting pen to paper,” said Kosminsky, “so if I needed any detail about a character or an event, or even about details like how they ate or removed their caps with a bow, she was the person to go to.

“As we were putting that show together, I was constantly in touch with her and met her on a number of occasions asking her for advice. The celebrated director worked extremely closely with Mantel on the adaptation of the writer’s two books, “Wolf Hall” and “Bring Up the Bodies,” which were combined for the single 2015 BBC series “Wolf Hall.” So now we will have to continue this as a memorial to, but also without the advantage of her guidance and advice,” said Kosminsky.

“Quite apart from my personal sadness, I’ve also lost my main collaborator.

The mirror and the light series