Martin Freeman and Jim Broadbent are heading to BBC Two this Christmas for The Bride’s Chamber, the latest instalment of Mark Gatiss’s annual A Ghost Story for Christmas series. The BBC has now revealed the cast alongside a first-look image of Freeman as Goodchild, with the new supernatural drama adapting one of Charles Dickens’ darker stories. It will mark the ninth entry in Gatiss’s festive ghost story collection and is set to air on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer over Christmas 2026. The special was filmed earlier this year at Ingatestone Hall in Essex.

Freeman reunites with Gatiss following their work together on Sherlock, while Broadbent joins the special following a career that has included everything from Harry Potter and Bridget Jones to The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry.

What Is The Bride’s Chamber About?

Set in 1858, The Bride’s Chamber begins at an unnamed inn, where a lone traveller arrives to stay for the night. He soon receives a visit from a mysterious man dressed in black, who has a disturbing story to tell. At the centre of that story is a rejected and vengeful suitor who manipulates a young woman into marrying him so that he can claim her fortune. His murderous plans do not unfold as expected, eventually leaving him trapped in a horror of his own making.

The story was originally published in 1858 as The Ghost in the Bride’s Chamber and comes from a work co-written by Dickens and Wilkie Collins. Gatiss described it as a rare Dickens story and “a weird and nasty little treasure”, adding that it brings together a lonely inn, an unknown traveller and a tale of obsession.

Who Is in The Bride’s Chamber Cast?

Martin Freeman stars as Goodchild, with the first image from the special showing the Sherlock and The Hobbit actor inside the period setting.

Jim Broadbent also leads the cast, alongside Adrian Scarborough, whose credits include The Chelsea Detective and Gavin & Stacey, Happy Valley actor Joe Armstrong, The Agency’s India Fowler and Lewis Shepherd, recently seen in Dear England and Lynley.

Mark Gatiss Returns for Another Ghost Story for Christmas

The Bride’s Chamber continues the BBC’s festive ghost story tradition under Gatiss, following E.F. Benson adaptation The Room in the Tower in 2025, E. Nesbit’s Woman of Stone in 2024 and Arthur Conan Doyle’s Lot No. 249 in 2023. Gatiss has adapted and directed the new special, which is produced by Adorable Media for BBC Arts. Isibeal Ballance serves as producer, with Mark Bell commissioning the programme for the BBC.

This year’s special will also form part of a wider run of Dickens programming on the BBC this winter. The broadcaster has a new documentary looking at Dickens and Victorian London, a four-part adaptation of A Tale of Two Cities starring Kit Harington and a performance reading of Oliver Twist by Caroline Quentin among its upcoming plans.

When Is The Bride’s Chamber on BBC Two?

The Bride’s Chamber will air on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer over Christmas 2026, although the BBC has not announced an exact transmission date yet.

For CultureCues, Mark Gatiss bringing back A Ghost Story for Christmas is a festive TV tradition we are always happy to see return. This year’s cast is a strong one too, with Martin Freeman and Jim Broadbent leading the special. The story sounds properly creepy, with a strange inn, an unexpected visitor and a Dickens tale of revenge, murder and the supernatural. We’ll definitely be watching this Christmas.

The Bride’s Chamber will air on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer this Christmas.

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