BBC Arts has ordered a new three-part series exploring the life and inspirations of Charles Dickens.
Produced by Expectation, and made in partnership with The Open University, the series will air later this year on BBC Two and iPlayer as part of the National Year of Reading 2026.
The new series will explore how Dickens, a restless insomniac and obsessive night walker, drew inspiration from the people and stories he encountered in Victorian London after dark. It shows how the characters he encountered on the streets, as well as in London’s busy courts and jails, both shaped his stories and sharpened his keen sense of social injustice.
Running alongside the story of his exploration of London is the story of Dickens’ creative evolution, revealing how real-life events informed some of literature’s most enduring works, from Oliver Twist and David Copperfield to A Christmas Carol. The series will revisit the pivotal and often shocking moments he experienced first-hand, from his experiences in a boot blacking factory as a child to the 1849 Tooting cholera outbreak he reported on as a journalist.
Visually, the series will draw on early Victorian street photography as well as etchings and drawings to bring the city to life, along with Dickens’ own words and dramatic reconstructions.
Suzy Klein, Head of BBC Arts and Classical Music TV, says, “Charles Dickens is beloved by generations of readers for his peerless plotting, keen sense of place and vivid characters who live long in the memory. During this National Year of Reading, it felt only right to return to one of Britain’s most-read authors and explore the real-world events and creative imagination that came together so brilliantly in his novels. That process of discovery promises to reveal as much about love, passion, society, crime and class today as it will for Dickens’ own era – and Expectation, with their track-record for innovative excellence in storytelling, promise to deliver a must-watch series offering us the chance to viscerally experience the world as Dickens did.”
Colin Barr, Creative Director, Factual, Expectation, says, “I’m not sure there could be a more fascinating subject for a series, than Charles Dickens, his extraordinary work and the conflicted world of Victorian London. Like many of his much-loved characters, Dickens himself was a man of contradictions and secrets, which both drove him on and threatened to tear him down. By shining a light on how that informed his writing and shaped his genius, we hope to create a series that is original, gripping and ultimately inspiring.”
Further literature-focused programming from BBC Arts this year includes new episodes of The Read exploring classic titles such as The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, Little Women and Oliver Twist, and newly commissioned BBC Bookworm content for TikTok.
Dickens (w/t) is an Expectation production (3×60’) for BBC Two and BBC iPlayer, produced in partnership with The Open University. It was commissioned by Suzy Klein for BBC Arts and the Commissioning Editor for the BBC is Alistair Pegg. The Executive producer for Expectation is Emmy and BAFTA Award-Winning Colin Barr. The series director is multi-BAFTA winning director Benedict Sanderson. The lead editor will be multi-BAFTA winning editor Otto Burnham. The series producer is Deborah Lee.
Jon Creamer
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