The broadcaster announced in November that it had commissioned the adaptation from Bad Wolf and New Line Cinema.

Philip Pullman’s epic fantasy trilogy has sold close to 17.5 million copies around the globe and has been translated into more than 40 languages.

Thorne said it was “an honour and a privilege” to write the series, adding, “What I always loved about Bad Wolf's intentions with this project was the notion of sounding every note. The His Dark Materials trilogy are vast and glorious books full of beautiful characters and I'm going to work as hard as I can to try and do justice to them.”

Thorne began his screenwriting career on Skins and Shameless, and won the RTS Programme Award for Writer – Drama in 2011 with Shane Meadows for This Is England ’86. He is also writing the highly anticipated Harry Potter play, Harry Potter & The Cursed Child, due to open in London this summer.

Speaking about Thorne’s appointment, Pullman said: “Jack is a writer of formidable energy and range, and I’ve greatly enjoyed talking to him and learning about his plans for bringing His Dark Materials to the screen. I’m certain he’ll do a superb job, and I look forward to seeing the whole project develop as he shapes the story.”

Pullman will act as an executive producer on the series, which will be made in Wales, alongside Jane Tranter and Julie Gardner for Bad Wolf, Toby Emmerich and Carolyn Blackwood for New Line Cinema, Bethan Jones for BBC One and Deborah Forte for Scholastic.