BBC Announces Major New Series on Charles Dickens for National Year of Reading
A new three-part BBC television series will explores the life and inspirations of the novelist, journalist and social campaigner 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.
It will focus on how Dickens, a restless insomniac and obsessive night walker, drew inspiration from the people and stories he encountered in Victorian London after dark, showing how the characters he encountered on the streets as well as in London’s busy courts and jails shaped his stories and sharpened his sense of social injustice.
"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," said Suzy Klein, Head of BBC Arts and Classical Music TV. "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."
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 immerse the viewer in the world of 19th century London, drawing 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.
“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," said Colin Barr, Creative Director, Factual, Expectation. "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.
