THE future of the popular BBC Alba drama series Bannan has been secured, following a landmark deal with producers.

A four-year agreement with Young Films has been signed, meaning the show will be extended for at least 20 episodes.

Filmed on the Isle of Skye, Bannan has been hailed as a breakthrough for Gaelic-language content, with DRG taking on international distribution duties.

The deal will be funded by MG ALBA, the Gaelic media service and one of the partners behind BBC ALBA, and marks a significant investment in drama for the channel.

There has been 23 episodes of Bannan produced since 2014, with five of those due to be aired in the autumn.

The announcement was made prior to a screening of the show at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, and coincided with the launch of MG ALBA's annual report for 2016-17.

Maggie Cunningham, chair of MG ALBA, said: "The development of drama was a key milestone for BBC ALBA and, since it was first broadcast in 2014, Bannan has proved popular with both our core Gaelic audience and non-Gaelic speakers alike.

"We're pleased to announce a four-year deal with Young Films, which will provide longer-term certainty for Bannan's ongoing development."

She continued: "Whilst drama production comes at a significantly higher cost than other genres, MG ALBA believes longer-term planning for Bannan can bring similar benefits and also, that such strategic investment in drama enables us to create a strong creative foundation that benefits the future of Gaelic on screen, by strengthening the skills vital to telling our stories."

Chris Young, of Young Films, added: "My dream was always to create a popular and successful long-running Gaelic language drama that works for Gaelic, national and international audiences.

"With this new deal we have a unique opportunity to take our storylines and characters in unexpected and exciting directions.

"It also gives us scope to develop our training programme on a more strategic basis, continuing our ambition to create a new generation of Scottish and Gaelic film and television talent."