Great Expectations

The BBC's big-budget, six-part adaptation of the classic Dickens novel by Steven Knight stars Olivia Colman and Fionn Whitehead.

Viewers will be able to watch episodes from the series on catch-up via iPlayer. The series, developed and written by [Peaky Blinders](https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/all-about/peaky-blinders) writer Steven Knight, features a glittering all-star cast. The Filming for the series took place in Shrewsbury last year, with part of the Shropshire town being transformed to resemble Victorian London. The series, like Charles Dickens’ original novel, is set in London and Kent. Johnny Harris also features as Magwitch, while Shalom Brune-Franklin plays Estella Havisham.

New BBC One drama Great Expectations features an impressive cast including Olivia Coleman and Welsh star Trystan Gravelle.

Mr Pumblechook is Joe's uncle and he escorts Pip to Miss Havisham's house for the first time. Friend to Pip Wemmick is also the bill collector for Mr Jaggers, a role he relishes. Joe has always treated Pip like a son and continues to look out for him throughout the story. In the role of Pip's older sister Mrs Sara Gargery, who raised him, is Hayley Squires. Handling the affairs of Pip is the lawyer Mr Jaggers who will be played by Ashley Thomas. Pip is an orphan who wants more from life and through meeting the eccentric Miss Havisham he is shown the world he thinks he wants to be part of. In the role of Estella, Miss Havisham's adopted daughter, is Shalom Brune-Franklin. When viewers meet him the repercussions of that are in full swing. Compeyson abandoned Miss Havisham at the altar and was responsible for Magwitch's arrest. Here is the cast list for Great Expectations and where you may have seen the stars before. Under the great expectations placed upon him, Pip will have to work out the true cost of this new world and whether it will truly make him the man he wishes to be. The new series is expected to be a darker story than is usually pictured and comes only 12 years after the BBC's last adaptation of the Charles Dickens classic novel.

The new BBC adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic Great Expectations is penned by Peaky Blinders' Steven Knight and stars Olivia Colman.

Her vague air hints at the opium we will later see her smoke in one of Knight’s additions to the character, but her desperate thirst for vengeance on men is all Dickens’ (and Colman’s) own. Episode one plays out his fateful encounter with escaped convict Magwitch (Johnny Harris), who threatens the boy in order to secure food, drink and a blade to cut his shackles after happening upon him in the graveyard. [Steven Knight](https://metro.co.uk/tag/steven-knight/?ico=auto_link_entertainment_P4_LNK1). [Comment Now](#metro-comments-container) This is where Knight has chosen to deploy a few choice F-bombs, which, considering the circumstances, seems pretty reasonable. While the language and later instances of drug use in the series have had some Dickens purists clutching their pearls, it’s exactly the injection of difference necessary. [in her portrayal of one of Dickens’ most iconic c](https://metro.co.uk/2023/02/16/olivia-colman-unrecognisable-in-chilling-great-expectations-trailer-18295999/) [h](https://metro.co.uk/2023/02/16/olivia-colman-unrecognisable-in-chilling-great-expectations-trailer-18295999/) [a](https://metro.co.uk/2023/02/16/olivia-colman-unrecognisable-in-chilling-great-expectations-trailer-18295999/) [r](https://metro.co.uk/2023/02/16/olivia-colman-unrecognisable-in-chilling-great-expectations-trailer-18295999/) [a](https://metro.co.uk/2023/02/16/olivia-colman-unrecognisable-in-chilling-great-expectations-trailer-18295999/) [c](https://metro.co.uk/2023/02/16/olivia-colman-unrecognisable-in-chilling-great-expectations-trailer-18295999/) [t](https://metro.co.uk/2023/02/16/olivia-colman-unrecognisable-in-chilling-great-expectations-trailer-18295999/) [e](https://metro.co.uk/2023/02/16/olivia-colman-unrecognisable-in-chilling-great-expectations-trailer-18295999/) [r](https://metro.co.uk/2023/02/16/olivia-colman-unrecognisable-in-chilling-great-expectations-trailer-18295999/) [s](https://metro.co.uk/2023/02/16/olivia-colman-unrecognisable-in-chilling-great-expectations-trailer-18295999/), still wearing the bridal gown from the wedding ceremony where she was jilted years before. [Marvel actor Jonathan Majors arrested in New York on assault and strangulation charges](https://metro.co.uk/2023/03/26/marvel-actor-jonathan-majors-arrested-in-new-york-on-assault-charges-18503359/?ico=more_text_links) The [Peaky Blinders](https://metro.co.uk/tag/peaky-blinders/?ico=auto_link_entertainment_P4_LNK2) and Taboo creator has penned the script and teamed up with actor [Tom Hardy](https://metro.co.uk/tag/tom-hardy/?ico=auto_link_entertainment_P4_LNK3) once more – as well as director Ridley Scott – to executive produce the drama. [Charles Dickens](https://metro.co.uk/tag/charles-dickens/)’ classic novel Great Expectations – but this time there’s a [distinctly moody and modern edge ](https://metro.co.uk/2023/03/21/steven-knights-great-expectations-with-olivia-colman-is-darker-18474811/)to the meandering tale, which stars [Olivia Colman ](https://metro.co.uk/tag/olivia-colman/)and Fionn Whitehead. [as recently as 2011, with Gillian Anderson](https://metro.co.uk/2023/03/21/olivia-colman-hesitated-over-great-expectations-due-to-gillian-anderson-18480847/), Ray Winstone and Douglas Booth. [and A Christmas Carol](https://metro.co.uk/2022/12/11/why-the-muppet-christmas-carol-is-the-best-charles-dickens-adaptation-17904766/).

In the first two episodes of the latest version of the classic Great Expectations, we meet Pip, a poor boy intent on becoming a...

One strength of the show is the presence of Matt Berry, who is the perfect Mr. Mary Littlejohn Mary Littlejohn is a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. He's mysterious and menacing, riveting to watch in all of his scenes. Despite this, the dynamic between Pip and Joe (Owen McDonnell) feels grounded and warm, particularly with the hostile Sara in there for some conflict. All of a sudden, Pip is in love with her, even though we've seen no indication of it. Everybody knows you’re the cleverest person in school, but you’re a girl, so your cleverness is seen as... The mist on the marshes is shot ominously and atmospherically. Another fine actor who jolts everything to life is Ashley Thomas as Mr. If you're adapting a British classic, put Matt Berry in there, and you know he'll nail it. Well done to Dan Atherton, the director of photography, for achieving that all so expertly. The other, a just cause. Cuarón's version, for example, didn't always work, but it did something fresh with the material.

Sarah Kennedy reviews BBC's latest adaptation of Charles Dickens' Great Expectations from writer Steven Knight.

Period dramas are a form of escapism, but always reflective of the time. Dickens always set his stories firmly in the seamy side of life, showing the brutal and unpleasant truth behind the polite Victorian facade. Is this another step in the cynical direction of modern period drama? Pip and the pompous Mr Pumblechook both see the advantage in getting to know the hoi polloi via whatever means possible. That stolen pork pie is the cause of such breathless tension and the payoff is extraordinary storytelling. Saying that a Charles Dickens adaptation is too violent, too warped, and too unpleasant seems naive at best. Young orphan Pip (Tom Sweet as the child while Fionn Whitehead plays the adult) is thoughtful, smart and empathetic, a fish out of water in his backwoods village. We leave Pip at the threshold of his new life wondering what on earth he’s gotten himself into. Great Expectations is back on BBC1 and the results are already in. Having failed to find someone from the right background, she’s decided the applicant must be the cleverest boy in the area. You could adapt lesser-known texts by Charles Dickens or his lesser-known contemporaries but a big drama needs a big name and this has two. The boy knows he’ll make his miserable situation significantly worse by stealing from his family and doing right by Magwitch.

EXCLUSIVE: Great Expectations' lead star Fionn Whitehead opened up about a frightening moment while shooting the BBC series.

Consisting of six episodes, the new series has been conceived by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight and delivers a much darker and grittier version of the [Charles Dickens](/latest/charles-dickens) favourite. Colman said: “No, I hadn’t seen either of them play it. I don’t want to know. “So yeah, I watched a couple. What about that bit?’ Leading the cast is Oscar winner [Olivia Colman](/latest/olivia-colman) as the twisted Miss Havisham and Dunkirk and Black Mirror actor Fionn Whitehead as Pip Gargery.

The Oscar winner is so good that the rest of this adaptation from the Peaky Blinders creator feels like filler. But do we really need yet another take on ...

In the meantime, there is Colman et al to enjoy. Is it that living in such a time makes it impossible not to read her as a proto-groomer? Let’s blow this whole thing out of the water and have Sarah Phelps go to town on Dickens, you are a cheeky bugger of a storyteller and well you know it.) The rest of it – so far at least – is standard, solid fare. There have been between 12 and 17 versions for film and television (depending on where you draw the line between “adaptation of” and “inspired by”) since the inaugural 1917 silent film by Robert G Vignola, plus about a dozen for the stage.

The Oliva Colman-led series is the 18th adaptation of Dickens' classic novel, and the second BBC retelling in 10 years.

"As I arrived at the far end of The Close, smoke was billowing providing a foggy backdrop for a horse and cart and a lone horseman. External shots of the elusive Miss Havisham's house, in all of its crumbling and ruined glory, were filmed in Wiltshire. Catherine Sample took a photo of the crew in action last year, The 18th retelling of the Victorian novel sees Oscar-winning actress Olivia Colman play the role of jilted bride Miss Havisham and adds a darker tinge that's laced with sex, violence and swearing. But some viewers criticised the new retelling shortly after it began airing, due to one seemingly fatal flaw. [telling WiltshireLive at the time](https://www.wiltshirelive.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/gallery/tour-bbc-great-expectations-salisbury-6854924) : "I was aware that filming of Great Expectations was going to take place but I was not prepared for the excitement of actually seeing it happen.

Those who tuned in to the adaptation of Charlies Dickens' 1861 novel complained that it was 'too dark', featured too much swearing and was 'unrecognisable' from ...

Magwitch says the Empire was built on the lies of privileged white men. 'What I tried to do was imagine if Dickens was writing the story now and had the freedom to go to those darker places, what would he do? We think she went white with the shock and the heartbreak. There were quite a few changes and I found it quite gripping.' We have gone for long white hair and lots of broken veins. 'He was never banging the drum, he was just saying, 'This is what's going on' and people could draw their own conclusions. Why does the BBC think it has the creative ability to improve Dickens? Quite a few bottom-slapping moments, which I did not recall from the original Dickens! A different disappointed viewer said: 'Well, I managed to watch 18 minutes ... Now over to Netflix #GreatExpectations.' This is less an adaptation than a confection! Another wrote: 'Not a great start so far.

Great Expectations follows the story of the classic Charles Dickens novel under the same title. The new series has a dark twist to the traditional tale and is ...

#GreatExpectations". Under the great expectations placed upon him, Pip will have to work out the true cost of this new world and whether it will truly make him the man he wishes to be. Another added: "New #GreatExpectations isn’t terribly good…" One said: "Not a great start so far. The new series has a dark twist to the traditional tale and is directed by Steven Knight, the creator of Peaky Blinders. Now viewers are questioning why the BBC has made another version so soon as the new series is criticised by viewers.

There was a time when a new BBC Sunday night Charles Dickens adaptation would have been the height of appointment television. But 162 years after Great ...

Meanwhile, newcomer Sweet captured Pip’s early precocious ambition and Lea was perfectly haughty as young Estella (these roles are later taken over by [Fionn Whitehead](https://inews.co.uk/culture/film/fionn-whitehead-scrubbing-toilets-dunkirk-1900209?ico=in-line_link) and Shalom Brune-Franklin respectively). In fact, this first episode was a relatively slow burn, building to the reveal of Colman as Miss Havisham. Yet there is an argument that any new Dickens adaptation needs to have a fresh angle. There was certainly the signature Knight bombast here – we were introduced to Magwitch in a dramatic and fiery prison break. But even that starry double act follows in the footsteps of two other relatively recent big name duos: Sarah Phelps’ 2011 version starred Gillian Anderson, while Mike Newall cast [Helena Bonham Carter](https://inews.co.uk/culture/television/helena-bonham-carter-on-nolly-women-are-cut-off-and-deemed-too-old-but-we-cant-become-obsolete-2101808?ico=in-line_link) in the role just a year later. Too-bright-for-his-own-good orphan Pip (Tom Sweet) was loathing his life working at the blacksmith forge run by his sister and her husband when two crucial events occurred.

Viewers of the new adaptation of Great Expectations on the BBC have been loving Matt Berry. The star - known for The IT Crowd, The Mighty Boosh, ...

He's awful." [ Great Expectations' Bashy's life from controversial rap song to bus driver job](https://www.mylondon.news/news/tv/bbc-great-expectations-bashys-life-26564369) [BBC](https://www.mylondon.news/all-about/bbc) have been loving Matt Berry.

The six-parter, which stars Olivia Coleman and Fionn Whitehead, is the latest adaptation of Charles Dickens' 1861 novel and follows an orphan named Pip who ...

Looking forward to the next episode." One person tweeted: "I thought the new Great Expectations was very good. A third person wrote: "Thoroughly enjoyed this latest adaptation of #GreatExpectations. Disappointing," while another added: "#GreatExpectations Too dark, too sweary, too unrecognisable." Turn the lights on please." One person wrote: "Yes, I know they didn't have electricity in Victorian times.