Mark Gatiss

The Repair Shop: Christmas Special

BBC One, 8.00pm

Starring Simon Callow, Mark Gatiss and Tasmin Greig, the special has been adapted from the novel The Ghosts by Antonia Barber and the 1972 film of the same name.

London teenagers Jamie (Jason Rennie) and Lucy Allen (Tsion Habte) are in for a Christmas adventure when they meet a mysterious old man called Mr Blunden (Simon Callow). 

Blunden offers the kids’ mum an opportunity to become a caretaker of a ruined country house that is supposedly haunted. 

The six-part BBC Two series will feature stand-alone stories every episode and will explore Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton’s world of the extraordinary and macabre. 

This series will feature Daniel Mays (Line of Duty), Jason Isaacs (The OA), Sophie Okonedo (Britannia), Jessica Hynes (There She Goes), Diane Morgan (Mandy), Daisy Haggard (Back To Life), Annette Badland (EastEnders), Siobhan Redmond (The Replacement) and Ron Cook (The Salisbury Poisonings).

Inspired by Bram Stoker’s classic, Dracula will re-introduce the Transylvanian vampire to the world as he plans to terrorise Victorian London.

 “I am thrilled to be taking on the role of Dracula, especially when the script is in the hands of the incredible talents of Steven Moffat [and] Mark Gatiss,” commented Claes Bang on his new role.

The three-part series, written and created by Sherlock’s Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, will be a reintroduction to literature’s most famous vampire as he plans to cause chaos in Victorian London.

Moffat and Gatiss said, “There have always been stories about great evil. What’s special about Dracula, is that Bram Stoker gave evil its own hero.”

BBC's Director of Content, Charlotte Moore, said of the new project, “Genius duo Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss turn their attentions to Dracula for unmissable event television on BBC One."