Forget the tree, forget the parties, forget the dinner – Christmas TV is the most important present of all. We're still waiting to hear about release dates, but the schedule so far looks a treat.
From Steven Knight's bleak reworking of A Christmas Carol to the exciting return of Gavin and Stacey, here are our top five picks for Christmas 2019
Charles Dickens’ existential classic has enjoyed infinite versions over the years. Has it run out of things to say? Apparently not.
Maybe we can trust that Peaky Blinders writer Steven Knight, a dark and excellent force in TV writing, will offer something different. This three-part adaptation claims to be ‘haunting’, ‘hallucinatory’ and ‘spine-tingling’. Considering Knight’s stylistic talent, especially with bleak period dramas, he’s certain to deliver an unforgettable journey.
With Guy Pearce (Mary Queen of Scots) as Scrooge, Andy Serkis (Black Panther) as the Ghost of Christmas Past, and Stephen Graham (The Irishman, The Virtues, Line of Duty) as Jacob Marley, this could be the BBC event of the season.
The BBC reaches back into Britain’s political history for an adulterous tale that scandalised the nation.
In the 60s, the Secretary of State for War John Profumo was accused of having an extra-marital affair with the 19-year-old dancer Christine Keeler. Like the Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky scandal, Profumo strenuously denied the allegations until further evidence proved the contrary – dismantling Harold Macmillan’s Tory government.
The Trial of Christine Keeler follows these events in a six-part series, which stars Sophie Cookson (Greed, Kingsman), Emilia Fox (Silent Witness, Strangers), James Norton (Mr Jones, Little Women), and Ellie Bamber (Les Miserables).
There’s a battle of Agatha Christie adaptations this Christmas, with two BBC series competing for a festive release.
The Pale Horse will probably win, as it’s penned by Dublin Murders writer Sarah Phelps. Phelps has been responsible for the last four BBC adaptations (And Then There Were None, The Witness for the Prosecution, Ordeal By Innocence, The ABC Murders) and Pale Horse will reportedly be her last, concluding the quintet.
But there’s some hope for Death Comes As the End – written by the creator of ITV’s Vanity Fair, Gwyneth Hughes. Hughes can re-electrify old classics and shock them with a modern style, so this Agatha Christie adaptation could prove more stylish than most – especially as the novel’s set in ancient Egypt.
Last Christmas, Mark Gatiss (Sherlock, Doctor Who) lifted and frightened a million hearts when he rebooted the classic BBC Ghost Story for Christmas with The Dead Room – heavily inspired by short-story writer MR James.
This year, Gatiss returns to haunt this most wonderful time of the year, writing and directing a TV adaptation of James’s courtroom ghost tale Martin’s Close.
Set in 1684, a complicated murder trial is presided over by the prosecutor Dolben (Peter Capaldi). John Martin is accused of killing a young girl, but that young girl has been seen after her supposed death. Knowing both the reputations of James and Gatiss, there’s bound to be a chilling, supernatural explanation…
As Nessa might say: what's been occurring, these past nine years? That's right: the Bafta-winning BBC sitcom penned by James Corden and Ruth Jones is returning for a one-off Christmas special!
Corden and Jones pick up from where the series 3 finale left off, with Stacey and Ness pregnant with their babies. The episode recently played in a room of lucky TV critics, many of whom praised the show. This included PilotTV editor Terri White, who claims: 'There's been no finer writing on screen this year.'
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