The Spirits Of Christmas

Hollywood star Guy Pearce on putting a new, darker twist on a festive classic

- Caren Clark

On a warm June day, TV Times is standing outside a former aircraft hangar in Hertfordshire. But as we step inside, we are transported straight into a Victorian street scene at Christmas time.

As snow drifts down into a cobbled yard, Neighbours legend turned Hollywood star Guy Pearce, wearing a grey dressing gown and muffler as Ebenezer Scrooge, faces the ominous Ghost of Christmas Future, played by Jamestown actor Jason Flemyng.

We’ve been invited on set to watch filming for BBC1’s spinetingling three-part adaptation of Charles Dickens’ festive masterpiece, A Christmas Carol.

But although the story of sour miser Scrooge and his journey of redemption is a timeless one, this gripping new version, written by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, has an edgier feel as the dark recesses of the protagonist’s troubled mind are explored.

Set at Christmas 1843, the drama begins as the restless spirit of Scrooge’s equally sinful former business partner Jacob Marley (Line of Duty’s Stephen Graham) is sent to urge Scrooge to repent his crimes and warn him that three more ghosts are on their way.