The BBC is backing a new documentary about the life of Richard Pryor, featuring a wealth of archive material.

The corporation will air the as-yet-untitled film from director Marina Zenovich as part of the Storyville strand on BBC Four, probably early next year.

Storyville editor Nick Fraser told the website Realscreen it had taken a long time to get Pryor’s family to agree to the documentary.

‘We’ve wanted to do a film on him for a long time,’ he said, adding that it will feature ‘a lot of great archive’ footage as it covers Pryor’s drug use, multiple marriages multiple sclerosis and groundbreaking stand-up.

The documentary was originally commissioned by upmarket cable network Showtime, which will air it in the States.