Martin Freeman and Jim Broadbent will star in an adaptation of "The Bride's Chamber," which was published in 1858 and "is considered among Charles Dickens's darkest stories," Deadline reported. As is tradition at the BBC, Mark Gatiss created the project, the ninth in what has become a staple of British TV festive season specials. Last year was an adaptation of E.F. Benson's The Room in the Tower, which was preceded by E. Nesbit's Woman of Stone and Arthur Conan Doyle's Lot No. 249.
The cast also includes Adrian Scarborough, India Fowler, and Lewis Shepherd. Principal photography took place on location in Ingatestone Hall, in Essex, U.K. earlier this year. The Bride's Chamber will air on BBC Two over the festive period and play on BBC iPlayer. Adorable Media is producing, with BBC Studios handling international distribution.
"It's unusual to find a Dickens rarity, but this is it," said Gatiss. "A weird and nasty little treasure which lurks within a work co-written with the great Wilkie Collins. A lonely inn, an incognito traveler and a ghastly tale of warped obsession. Merry Christmas!"