Tom Hardy has teamed up with Steven Knight to adapt Charles Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol' for the BBC.

Tom Hardy

Tom Hardy

The 40-year-old actor will work alongside the 'Peaky Blinders' and 'Taboo' writer on the adaptation of the novel, which will air on BBC One at Christmas time in 2019.

Tom said: "It's extremely exciting to have the opportunity to team up with Ridley Scott, Steven Knight and our partners at the BBC with this rare and wonderful opportunity to revisit and interpret Dickens' classic works. 'A Christmas Carol' is a fabulous magical piece of theatre and an embarrassment of riches for our creative team - from character all the way through to design. Here's to having a lot of intricate and wonderful fun. We feel very lucky."

Stephen added: "Any question about narrative storytelling is answered by Dickens. To have the chance to revisit the text and interpret in a new way is the greatest privilege. We need luck and wisdom to do this justice."

'A Christmas Carol' - which follows the story of Ebenezer Scrooge - is set to be produced by Ridley Scott's production company Scott Free and Tom Hardy's Hardy Son & Baker.

Ridley shared: "It's terrific to be continuing the creative partnership of Scott Free London with Tom and Steve that started with Taboo and continues with this exciting and ambitious anthology of British classics."

It is not known how many of Dickens' novels they plan to adapt but there are set to be more announced in due course.

Piers Wenger, Controller of BBC Drama, said: "Steven's unique ability to reimagine the past and to turn it in to must see drama make him the perfect writer to reinvent Dickens' most famous works for a new generation. And in A Christmas Carol, that most familiar of Dickens' stories, he has found the perfect place to start."

And Charlotte Moore, Director of BBC Content, added: "It's incredibly exciting to have a genius like Steven Knight embark on a series of Dickens adaptations. What can I say? Be prepared to be blown away by his wholly original and visionary take on some of Britain's best loved classics."

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