‘The Bride’s Chamber’ Will Open in ‘A Ghost Story for Christmas’
Considered one of Dickens’ darkest tales, 'The Bride’s Chamber' is the latest to be given the 'A Ghost Story For Christmas' treatment.
The BBC has confirmed it will continue one of its most delightful holiday traditions with the debut of a brand new A Ghost Story for Christmas on BBC Two on Christmas Eve. This year’s adaptation is one of Charles Dickens’ darkest tales, The Bride’s Chamber (originally published in 1858 as The Ghost in the Bride’s Chamber), once again brought to life by Bookish creator Mark Gatiss.
It is a long-standing British tradition to tell ghost stories at Christmas – the most famous is A Christmas Carol, but there were dozens published during the Victorian era, and modern writers still follow in their wake. The BBC first began adapting these stories in the 1970s, with the last one airing in 1978; the tradition started again in 2004 with sporadic one-offs on Christmas Eve from writers like Neil Cross (Luther) and Peter Harness (Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell).
Gatiss first took it over in 2013 with The Tractate Middoth; since 2018, he has faithfully adapted a new short story every year, including stories from Edith Nesbit, Arthur Conan Doyle, E.F. Benson, and several of M.R. James’ famous Christmas ghost stories from the interwar period. The Bride’s Chamber marks the first Dickens story the series has undertaken.
As part of the announcement, Mark Gatiss said, “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 traveler and a ghastly tale of warped obsession. Merry Christmas!”
Here’s the special’s synopsis:
1858. An inn with no name, an eccentric landlord, and a lone traveler with a strangely familiar appearance. As he settles into his room for the night, the traveler is visited by an uncanny man in black with a story to tell…
The Bride’s Chamber tells the story of a spurned, vengeful suitor who manipulates a young woman and marries her to claim her fortune. But his murderous plans create his own purgatory…
This year’s Ghost Story stars Martin Freeman (Sherlock), Jim Broadbent (The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power), Adrian Scarborough (The Chelsea Detective), Joe Armstrong (Happy Valley), India Fowler (The Agency), and Lewis Shepherd (Lynley).
Gatiss will once again write and direct the TV film, his ninth A Ghost Story for Christmas special. Adorable Media is once again producing the latest installment in the series. As usual, Isibéal Ballance is the executive producer for Adorable Media, with Mark Bell for the BBC.
A Ghost Story for Christmas: The Bride’s Chamber will debut in its usual Christmas Eve slot on BBC Two on Thursday, December 24, 2026.
The full A Ghost Story for Christmas series is currently not available to stream in the U.S., as it left PBS Passport sometime in the last year. We hope to see that rectified before the 2026 holiday season.
Subscribe to Telly Visions paying tiers to join our Discord server!
