Martin Freeman is almost unrecognisable in the first look at the BBC's annual Ghost Story For Christmas, where he leads the festive special adapted by Mark Gatiss. The 55-year-old actor, known for Sherlock, The Hobbit and The Responder, plays Mr Goodchild in The Bride's Chamber, set in 1858.
A Dark Dickens Tale
Based on a story by Charles Dickens, it follows an eccentric landlord of an inn with no name and a lone traveller with a strangely familiar appearance. When the traveller settles into his room for the night, he is visited by an uncanny man in black with a story to tell.
Martin sports wild grey hair and a long beard in the role. He is joined by Jim Broadbent, Adrian Scarborough, Joe Armstrong, India Fowler and Lewis Shepherd.
Mark Gatiss on the Special
The synopsis reads: "The Bride's Chamber tells the tale of a spurned and vengeful suitor who manipulates a young woman and marries her to claim her fortune. But his murderous plans create his own purgatory."
Mark Gatiss, who also created the 2025 special The Room in the Tower, Woman of Stone in 2024 and Arthur Conan Doyle's Lot No. 249 in 2023, said: "I'm once more thrilled and honoured to bring another Ghost Story for Christmas to BBC Two. It's unusual to find a Dickens rarity, but this is it! A weird and nasty little treasure which lurks within a work co-written with the great Wilkie Collins. A lonely inn, an incognito traveller and a ghastly tale of warped obsession. Merry Christmas!"
More Dickens Programming
Mark Bell, Commissioning Editor for BBC Arts, added: "The Ghost Story for Christmas has become an essential dish on the festive TV menu, for audiences who love nothing more than settling in for a spine-tingling tale on a winter's night. This year we're delighted to bring you this spooky story by Charles Dickens, brilliantly adapted and directed by Mark Gatiss, with a great cast, to coincide with a range of further Dickens-inspired programming set to air across the BBC in December as part of the National Year of Reading."
BBC fans can also expect a three-part documentary examining how Dickens drew creative inspiration from the streets of Victorian London after dark, and a new four-part drama adaptation of A Tale Of Two Cities starring Kit Harington. The broadcaster said: "BBC Arts is also bringing to life Oliver Twist for The Read, with a performance reading by Caroline Quentin, while Mark Gatiss will unbox a copy of his all-time favourite Dickens novel for award-winning social media series The Rebound, coming to TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and BBC iPlayer."
The Bride's Chamber will air on the BBC later this year.
