First-Look Images Of The BBC’s ‘A Christmas Carol’ Are Here – And We’re Obsessed

Earlier this week, a release date for the BBC's upcoming adaptation of Charles Dickens timeless festive tale A Christmas Carol, executive produced by Tom Hardy, was finally revealed.

The three-part miniseries will shake its ghostly shackles onto BBC One at 9pm, 22nd December - but until now, images of the new adaptation have been kept under lock and key.

Now the BBC has released a series of atmospheric first-look shots - and they've shaken up the internet more than a spooky visit from Jacob Marley.

The images give hints of how the star-studded cast and crew have approached the adaptation, and build on the teaser, which gives us aerial shots of snow-smothered streets, chaotic crowd scenes, sickly children and endless flickering candlelight.

Dickens' iconic 1843 tale tells the story of old and bitter Ebenezer Scrooge, who is visited by the ghost of his former business partner, Jacob Marley.

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Further ghostly visits from the Ghost of Christmas Past, the Ghost Christmas Present, and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come reveal to Scrooge how his behaviour has impacted on those around him. Ultimately he transforms into a kinder, warm-hearted soul.

Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight and Alien director Ridley Scott are among the megawatt names heading up the production, alongside Tom Hardy.

The stills show a number of key street and interior scenes in frost-bitten, Victorian-era settings. Shot in historic market town Warwick, there are echoes of Peaky Blinders in the dark and moody lighting.

Guy Pearce is transformed for the role of miserly Scrooge, loitering in a shadowy doorway and peering ominously through frosted glass.

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Joe Alwyn (aka Taylor Swift's boyfriend), playing Bob Cratchit, appears perched at a writing desk and captured in a candlelit family kitchen scene.

This Is England's Stephen Graham is captured draped in cobwebbed chains as the ghostly vision of Jacob Marley.

The remaining cast is acting dynamite, with Andy Serkis playing the Ghost of Christmas Past, and Jason Flemyng the Ghost of Christmas Future.

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Vinette Robinson appears as Mary Cratchit, while Charlotte Riley plays Lottie.

Lenny Rush, Tiarna Williams, Thea Achillea and Billy Barratt also star in the production.

"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," said Tom Hardy.

"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," he continued.

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"Tonight, you will not sleep..." narrates the trailer's ghostly voiceover.

Damn straight - we're way too excited to sleep.

Topics: TV News, TV Entertainment

Mary-Jane Wiltsher

Mary-Jane Wiltsher is a freelance lifestyle and culture journalist. Elsewhere she writes for Stylist, Euronews, PHOENIX and What We Seee.