BBC Four

Mark Gatiss in A Christmas Carol

Mark Gatiss (Sherlock, Dracula, Doctor Who) stars as Jacob Marley in this stage production of A Christmas Carol - his own retelling of Dickens’ classic winter ghost story, A Christmas Carol - alongside Nicholas Farrell (Chariots of Fire, The Crown, The Iron Lady) as Scrooge. Directed for the stage by Adam Penford, this powerful tale of life, love, loss and redemption is as relevant today as when it was first published 179 years ago.

It’s a cold Christmas Eve and mean-spirited miser Ebenezer Scrooge (Nicholas Farrell) has an unexpected visit from the spirit of his former business partner Jacob Marley (Mark Gatiss). Bound in chains as punishment for a lifetime of greed, the unearthly figure explains it isn’t too late for Scrooge to change his miserly ways in order to escape the same fate, but first he’ll have to face three more eerie encounters.

A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story is a Nottingham Playhouse production presented by Eleanor Lloyd Productions, Fiery Angel, Trafalgar Releasing, Eilene Davidson Productions and Gavin Kalin Productions (1 x 106’) for BBC Four and BBC iPlayer. Adapted by Mark Gatiss. The Director is Adam Penford. The Commissioning Editor for BBC Arts is Emma Cahusac.

IP

The Royal Institution Christmas Lectures 2022

Professor Dame Sue Black stands beside yellow tape that reads crime scene, do not cross
BBC Four & BBC iPlayer

One of the world’s leading forensic investigators, Professor Dame Sue Black, will deliver this year’s Christmas Lectures from the Royal Institution.

In a series of three Lectures to be broadcast on BBC Four in late December, Dame Sue will share the secrets of the real-life scientific detective process she uses to identify both the dead and the living.

With the public more fascinated by science and forensics than ever, Sue will reveal why we shouldn’t believe everything we see in our favourite TV crime dramas. Using stand-out cases from her remarkable career, she’ll explore the huge leaps forward forensic science has made, as well as some of its limitations, and what the future might hold. And she’ll reveal how real life can be far stranger than fiction.

Dame Sue has played a lead role in some of the world’s highest profile forensic investigations, helping to identify the victims and perpetrators of conflicts and disasters internationally, including the conflict in Kosovo where she was the lead forensic anthropologist to the British Forensic Team, and the Thai Tsunami Victim Identification Operation. Sue is currently President of St John’s College Oxford.

The Christmas Lectures, a 3x60’ for BBC Four and iPlayer, are co-produced by the Ri and Windfall Films. They were commissioned by Jack Bootle, Head of Commissioning, Specialist Factual. The Series Producer is Tom Ranson, the Executive Producer is David Dugan and the Commissioning Editor is Tom Coveney.