Dickensian: meet the cast of the BBC’s Avengers-style Charles Dickens universe series

The show features some of the writer’s most famous characters from across his works
Playful: Tuppence Middleton and Joseph Quinn stars as the Havishams in the BBC's new Dickens drama
BBC Red Planet
Ben Travis25 November 2015

Christmas TV offerings often bring a variety of well-worn favourites: a Doctor Who special, a one-off Strictly Come Dancing, and usually some kind of Dickens adaptation.

This year, the BBC have gone a bit more meta on the latter with new series Dickensian, which is set to debut over the festive period.

The show will depict a world in which some of the author’s most well-known characters not only co-exist, but end up entangled in each other’s lives – think Dickens does The Avengers.

The 20-part series is set to include Fagin and the Artful Dodger from Oliver Twist, Miss Havisham from Great Expectations, Bob Cratchit and Tiny Tim from A Christmas Carol, and many more.

It boasts an impressive cast, too – Tuppence Middleton is set to play the young Amelia Havisham, Spooks’ Peter Firth stars as Jacob Marley, Caroline Quentin as Mrs Bumble, Stephen Rea as Inspector Bucket, and Omid Djalili as Mr Venus from Our Mutual Friend.

Take a look at the full cast below, and see which of Dickens’ novels the characters originate in.

Interactive picture: So just who is who?

Speaking to The Telegraph, series writer Tony Jordan spoke about his hopes for the series, saying: “There is a whole generation of people who may know characters like Scrooge and Fagin but wouldn't necessarily have a clue who Miss Havisham was.

Best TV dramas 2015 - in pictures

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“It will bring a whole raft of new people to Dickens and his characters. You don't need to have read the books or know who the characters are. You can discovered them with Dickensian. That makes it incredibly exciting.”

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