Guy Pearce, Charlotte Riley, Stephen Graham, Andy Serkis and Vinette Robinson star in the BBC’s latest festive adaptation of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.
Here’s what you need to know…
When is A Christmas Carol on TV?
CONFIRMED: A Christmas Carol begins on 22nd December 2019 at 9pm on BBC One.
Episode two airs on 23rd December at 9.05pm, and the third and final episode will air on 24th December (Christmas Eve) at 9pm on BBC One.
There will also be a US broadcast on FX.
Is there a trailer for A Christmas Carol?
There is! Introducing Guy Pearce as the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge, the footage also shows off all sorts of paranormal scenes as Scrooge is haunted by a quartet of spirits and forced to revisit his past, rethink his present and glimpse his dark future.
Who is in the cast of A Christmas Carol?
Guy Pearce has been cast in the starring role, playing cold-hearted miser Ebenezer Scrooge. The actor’s previous credits include Jack Irish, The Innocents, and Mary Queen of Scots. In the original, Ebenezer Scrooge is much older and uglier – but Steven Knight had his reasons for making the drama’s protagonist younger and hotter, as he explained to RadioTimes.com in an interview.
Star Wars, Black Panther and Lord of the Rings actor Andy Serkis will play the Ghost of Christmas Past, while Stephen Graham (of Line of Duty and This Is England) will play Jacob Marley.
Peaky Blinders and Call the Midwife star Charlotte Riley will take on the role of Lottie, and The Favourite’s Joe Alwyn will play Bob Cratchit. The role of Mary Cratchit will be played by Doctor Who’s Vinette Robinson, and Remmie Milner plays Martha Griffin.
What We Do In The Shadows star Kayvan Novak has been cast as Ali Baba, while Lenny Rush will play Tim Cratchit (aka Tiny Tim).
Blade Runner’s Rutger Hauer was originally cast as the Ghost of Christmas Future (or the “Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come”), but he became too unwell to film the role and died in July 2019.
The role is instead played by Jason Flemyng, who joined the cast at the last minute.
“Rutger was going to play The Ghost Of Christmas Future and he and I spoke a few days before he died,” director Nick Murphy told RadioTimes.com. “We hadn’t done any filming with him; it was about three or four weeks before we were due to shoot. Losing him was very sad.”
Writer Steven Knight added: “It was terrible news. He really was unique, and that’s not a word I’d use often but he was unique in that sort of territory he carved out for himself. We were really looking forward to him being in it – but fate takes a hand.”
What is A Christmas Carol about?
Charles Dickens’ timeless 19th century novel A Christmas Carol has been adapted again and again over the years – and for Christmas 2019, it will be back on our screens for a three-part drama.
In this “unique and original take on Charles Dickens’ iconic ghost story,” the BBC has promised us “a haunting, hallucinatory, spine-tingling immersion into Scrooge’s dark night of the soul.”
A Christmas Carol is the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, an elderly and crotchety miser who is visited first by the ghost of his former business partner, Jacob Marley, and then by the Ghost of Christmas Past, the Ghost Christmas Present, and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. They show him how his cruel behaviour has affected those around him.
These nighttime visits completely change Scrooge’s attitude to life – and he is transformed into a kinder, gentler man.
BBC1 and American broadcaster FX have partnered on this new adaptation, which comes from the pen of Taboo and Peaky Blinders writer Steven Knight.
Knight said: “This production of A Christmas Carol will respectfully present what we believe to be a timely interpretation of a timeless story.”
A Christmas Carol is the first in a series of new BBC adaptions of Charles Dickens’ novels.
Does Tom Hardy appear in A Christmas Carol?
Apparently not!
The show’s writer Steven Knight has previously worked with actor Tom Hardy on Taboo and Peaky Blinders, even bringing his Blinders character Alfie Solomons back for a surprise role in the latest series.
The two have teamed up again for A Christmas Carol, with Tom Hardy stepping up as an executive producer – alongside Ridley Scott, Dean Baker, David W Zucker, Kate Crowe, Mona Qureshi and Knight himself.
But contrary to rumours, Hardy is not set for a cameo in the drama.
Director Nick Murphy responded to the idea with a tongue-in-cheek tweet, explaining: “Admittedly, I’m not a media insider, I only directed the show but as far as I’m aware, Tom Hardy does NOT appear in A Christmas Carol.”
In case there was any doubt, Murphy added: “He. Is. Not. In. It.”
Admittedly, I’m not a media insider, I only directed the show but as far as I am aware, Tom Hardy does NOT appear in A Christmas Carol.
— Nick Murphy (@nickmurftweets) December 6, 2019
