Jeffrey Taylor of Stagescreen Productions conceived the idea of a modern version of Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde in the mid-1990s and tried three times to get it produced in the United States before returning to England to develop it with Hartswood Films.

Steven Moffat explicitly conceived the series as a sequel rather than an adaptation, positing that the original Jekyll really existed and that Tom Jackman is his modern-day descendant dealing with the same affliction.

Moffat originally named the main character Jekyll but changed it to Jackman because it was cumbersome to explain that the novella did not exist in this universe, instead choosing a version where the book does exist under a changed family name.

Several plot threads, including the reveal that Ms Utterson is the Hyde persona of Jackman's mother Sophia and that Jackman's twin sons can swap bodies, were deliberately left dangling for a planned second series that was never commissioned, though Moffat said he had a sequel script ready if the BBC wanted it.

James Nesbitt was offered the script for Jekyll by Jane Tranter at the end of a meeting about Murphy's Law, and took the role partly to distance himself from his previous work.

The production team decided to differentiate Nesbitt's two characters mainly through acting rather than heavy make-up so that Hyde could walk around in public without attracting attention.

Gina Bellman originally auditioned for the younger role of Katherine but talked herself out of it, arguing there should be an age gap with Claire so Katherine wouldn't seem a threat to the wife; she was cast as Claire instead after impressing Moffat despite his initial doubts due to associating her with her Coupling character.

Michelle Ryan dyed her hair red for the role of Katherine Reimer to visually differentiate her from Tom Jackman's wife Claire, and consulted the Royal College of Psychiatry to prepare.

It took an hour of make-up each day to transform Nesbitt into Hyde, using a hairpiece to lower his hairline, prosthetics on his chin, nose and ear lobes, and black contact lenses to make Hyde appear 'soulless'.

The zoo sequence, filmed at Heythrop Zoo with animal trainers from Amazing Animals, was written late in production and shot first in September 2006 to compare Hyde's killer instinct to that of a lion.

Filming used real locations including the Norman Foster-designed former Electronic Arts European headquarters in Chertsey as the Klein & Utterson Institute, and the Hammer House in Wardour Street, Soho, for episode six.

Each episode was shot in just twelve days, which director Douglas Mackinnon called the biggest challenge of the production; episode six required an extra twenty minutes of filmed material that had to be carefully cut down.

Composer Debbie Wiseman scored the series with an approximately 18-piece orchestra, and some musical cues featured vocals by Hayley Westenra to foreshadow the importance of a female voice in the story.

UK broadcasts were edited to soften language for Saturday night audiences, changing a line from Hyde in episode one from 'Who the fuck is Mr Hyde?' to 'Who the hell is Mr Hyde?'; the uncut version with restored swearing was later included on the DVD release.

James Nesbitt received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television for his dual role.

In 2016, Lionsgate announced an American film remake produced by Ellen DeGeneres, with Chris Evans cast in the leading role and Ruben Fleischer set to direct, though no further news on the project emerged afterward.