Tourist chiefs are bracing themselves for a Bronte bonanza this summer, as the BBC prepares to screen a major film about the troubled lives of Haworth's first family.

In Search of the Brontes, which was filmed in and around the Parsonage museum, will be one of the highlights of BBC1's new season.

It paints a picture postcard image of Haworth - and the exposure is expected to draw visitors in record numbers throughout the tourist season.

Museum manager Alan Bentley said: "I should think people will be attracted here more than ever, especially given that fewer people are looking to go abroad this year."

Despite the attractive backdrop, the BBC's drama-documentary paints a bleak picture of the Brontes' troubled lives.

Brother Branwell is seen in an illicit affair with Lydia Robinson, the wife of one of his bosses and 17 years his senior, before he descends into alcohol and opium.

And sisters Charlotte, Emily and Anne are portrayed as sad victims of thwarted passion and unrequited love.

BBC spokesman Catherine Grimes said: "We wanted to separate the real Brontes from the images of the heroines in novels like Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights.

"They bear some resemblance to the Brontes' own lives but it's not the whole picture."

Said Mr Bentley, whose museum colleagues acted as technical advisors to the production: "We're here to raise the profile of the Brontes and we don't seek to hide the darker aspects of their lives."

He added: "From what we've seen of the production it looks excellent. The make-up artists did a particularly good job."

The BBC film, which stars Victoria Hamilton, Liz Hurran and Alexandra Milman as Charlotte, Emily and Anne, is the first TV history of the family since The Brontes of Haworth, a drama series made by YTV 30 years ago.

But Branwell Bronte's reputation has suffered since at the hands of film makers. The 1979 French film Les Soeurs Bronte, which starred Isabelle Adjani and was filmed partly at Bradford's Cartwright Hall, cast vague aspersions on his sexuality as well as his sobriety.

In the BBC production, Branwell is played by Poldark actor Jonathan McGuinness.

Transmission is expected in late spring.