The BBC has announced this year's ghost story for Christmas from Mark Gatiss, with the Sherlock writer adapting Arthur Conan Doyle’s short story Lot No. 249.
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The new project from Gatiss, which follows his previous ghost stories The Tractate Middoth, The Dead Room, Martin’s Close, The Mezzotint and Count Magnus, will be the first time he has penned one of Conan Doyle's horror stories for TV.
The official synopsis for the story says: "[It] revolves around a group of Oxford students, one of whom undertakes research into the secrets of Ancient Egypt which become the talk of the college.
"Can these experiments truly breathe life to the horrifying bag of bones which is the mysterious Lot. No 249?"
Mark Gatiss. Alan Chapman/Dave Benett/Getty Images
The one-off programme will star Game of Thrones's Kit Harington as Abercrombie Smith, while Slow Horses star Freddie Fox will play Edward Bellingham.
The rest of the cast will include Colin Ryan (Boundless), John Heffernan (Dracula), James Swanton (Stopmotion), Jonathan Rigby (Father Brown) and Andrew Horton (Slotherhouse).
Gatiss said: "It’s a serious delight for me to delve once again into the brilliant work of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, this time for the Christmas ghost story.
"Lot No. 249 is personal favourite and is the granddaddy (or should that be mummy?) of a particular kind of end of empire chiller: a ripping yarn packed with ghastly scares and who-knows-what lurking in the Victorian closet…"
The programme has already completed its filming in Hertfordshire, and will air on BBC Two this Christmas.
Earlier this year, Gatiss was asked about whether he would return to Sherlock, his modern day adaptation of Conan Doyle's most famous works, which he co-created with Steven Moffat.
He said that he and Moffat "would love to make a Sherlock movie", adding that it is "the natural thing to do".
Lot No. 249 will air on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer this Christmas.
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James Hibbs is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering programmes across both streaming platforms and linear channels. He previously worked in PR, first for a B2B agency and subsequently for international TV production company Fremantle. He possesses a BA in English and Theatre Studies and an NCTJ Level 5 Diploma in Journalism.
