Tom Hardy and the makers of ‘Taboo’ are adapting ‘A Christmas Carol’ for the BBC
The BBC has announced a new adaptation of A Christmas Carol.
The three-part mini-series, based on Charles Dickens’ classic festive novel, will be the first of a new series of adaptations of Charles Dickens’ classic novels from Gladiator director Ridley Scott’s production company Scott Free London and Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, in association with Tom Hardy’s production company Hardy Son and Baker.
The team first collaborated on BBC One’s gritty period drama Taboo earlier this year.
The official synopsis for A Christmas Carol 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?”
Piers Wenger, Controller of BBC Drama, commented: “Steven’s unique ability to reimagine the past and to turn it in to must see drama make him the perfect writer to reimagine Dickens’ most famous works for a new generation. And in A Christmas Carol, that most familiar of Dickens’ stories, he has found the perfect place to start.”
Kate Crowe, Head of TV, Scott Free London, added: “A Christmas Carol explores miserliness, isolation and selfishness against generosity, charity and open-heartedness; a clash of ideologies that is as significant today as it ever has been.”
Tom Hardy, who is expected to star in the adaptation, said: “It’s extremely exciting to have the opportunity to team up with Ridley Scott, Steven Knight and our partners at the BBC with this rare and wonderful opportunity to revisit and interpret Dickens’ classic works. A Christmas Carol is a fabulous magical piece of theatre and an embarrassment of riches for our creative team – from character all the way through to design. Here’s to having a lot of intricate and wonderful fun. We feel very lucky.”
A Christmas Carol will air in the UK on BBC One during Christmas 2019.
Charles Dickens’ original novel is available on Amazon.