All-star cast announced for BBC’s new adaptation of ‘A Christmas Carol’

The BBC has revealed some big movie star names for its upcoming A Christmas Carol mini-series.

Based on Charles Dickens’ classic festive novel, the three-part adaptation comes from Gladiator director Ridley Scott’s production company.

The story has been adapted for TV by Steven Knight (Peaky Blinders) and the new version is described as “a haunting, hallucinatory, spine-tingling immersion into Scrooge’s dark night of the soul.”

Australian actor Guy Pearce (Mary Queen of Scots) will lead the cast as Ebenezer Scrooge, alongside Andy Serkis (The Lord of the Rings) as the Ghost of Christmas Past, and Stephen Graham (Line of Duty) as Jacob Marley.

Charlotte Riley (Peaky Blinders) will play Lottie, Joe Alwyn (The Favourite) is Bob Cratchit, Vinette Robinson (Sherlock) is Mary Cratchit, Jason Flemyng (Save Me) is the Ghost of Christmas Future, Kayvan Novak (What We Do In The Shadows) is Ali Baba, and Lenny Rush (Old Boys) is Tim Cratchit.

Writer Steven Knight commented: “This production of A Christmas Carol will respectfully present what we believe to be a timely interpretation of a timeless story.”

Piers Wenger, Controller of BBC Drama, added: “We’re incredibly excited that filming has begun on Steve Knight’s brilliant interpretation of A Christmas Carol, with Nick Murphy directing a phenomenal cast in what promises to be an iconic version of the classic tale.”

The official synopsis reads: “As Ebenzer Scrooge, the miserly cold-hearted boss, is visited by four ghosts from the past, present and the future, on a freezing Christmas Eve, he must face up to how his self-interested, penny pinching behaviour has impacted his own life and those around him, leaving him in a paranoid bubble of fear. Is it too late for him to save the spirit of Christmas, and himself?”

A Christmas Carol will air this Christmas on BBC One in the UK and on FX in the US.

It’s the first in a series of planned Dickens adaptations by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight and the makers of Tom Hardy’s Taboo.

Charles Dickens’ original novel is available on Amazon.