From the creator of Peaky Blinders. This will be very popular.
A large reason why Peaky Blinders has proven to be so successful is that Steven Knight was writing from what he knew. Having been raised on stories of bookies, factories, and gangs, the tales were passed down to him from his grandfather.
Another reason is that Peaky Blinders doesn’t refrain from showing the lives of the working class. In fact, it revels in them because if you were to simplify the gangster drama, you could say it’s the story of a family that are shaped and defined by the two world wars.
Steven Knight has mythologised the working classes – grimy factories, pubs, and streets are almost presented as grand stages of theatre – which is why Knight is the perfect man to adapt Charles Dickens’ iconic story, A Christmas Carol.
The new adaptation and interpretation of the timeless classic, written by Knight (Peaky Blinders, Taboo), is also produced by the team behind Taboo.
The three-part special is an original take on the Charles Dicken’s iconic ghost story – a spine-tingling immersion into Scrooge’s dark night of the soul.
The star-studded cast includes Guy Pearce playing Ebenezer Scrooge; Andy Serkis as Ghost of Christmas Past; Stephen Graham as Jacob Marley; Charlotte Riley as Lottie; Joe Alwyn as Bob Cratchit; Vinette Robinson as Mary Cratchit; Jason Flemyng as the Ghost of Christmas Future; Kayvan Novak as Ali Baba; Lenny Rush as Tim Cratchit and Johnny Harris as Franklin Scrooge.
Away from the screen, Tom Hardy and Ridley Scott are serving as producers on this adaptation too.
At present, no premiere date has been set but we’d expect it to air over the Christmas period. Ironic, eh?
A Christmas Carol is the first in a series of adaptions of Charles Dickens’ novels commissioned by the BBC – so expect to see more over the coming years.
Take a look at what’s in store.
Clip via BBC
