Dodger is back on CBBC. There is already a new special entitled Train on iPlayer and a special Christmas edition is released at 5.35pm on Sunday, December 4. Watch it here.
As well as the regular cast members including Christopher Eccleston as Fagin, David Threlfall as Chief of Police and Billy Jenkins as Dodger, guest stars include Jane Horrocks, Tony Way, Robert Lindsay and Anita Dobson.
Dodger is set before the events of Charles Dickens’ iconic novel, Oliver Twist. There are some familiar characters and a whole gallery of colourful, new ones. Each episode is a standalone adventure brought together at the end of the series with some dramatic reveals and surprises. This latest special boasts robbing a moving train, explosions and rooftop escapades.
The show recently won a BAFTA for best scripted show and an RTS award. The series is written by Rhys Thomas and Lucy Montgomery. Thomas, who was also the brains behind Brian Pern, says "they are proper comedy adventures for the whole family which should really be on BBC One tea time. It’s as good as `Ghosts.'"
Thomas said of the project when it launched: “I have always loved Oliver Twist but wasn't so keen on Oliver himself. I preferred the company of Dodger, Fagin and the gang. I thought it would be fun to create a family show with Dodger at its heart and see how he came to be a master criminal in Victorian London. Working with the very best material as a springboard, it’s a total delight to expand Dickens’ rich world of characters and create a few of my own. To top it all, we have an incredible cast who are starring in the show. I can’t wait for families all over the world to see it!”
Christopher Eccleston added: “Fagin is an iconic role, I’m a very fortunate actor. Rhys Thomas and Lucy Montgomery have taken Charles Dickens’ extraordinary characters and imagined a whole new world and lives for them. I’m very, very excited.”
Pictured: Jack Dawkins / Dodger (BILLY JENKINS), Fagin (CHRISTOPHER ECCLESTON), Polly Crackitt (ELLIE-MAY SHERIDAN), Charley Bates (AABAY ALI), Tom Chitling (CONNOR CURREN), Tang (MILA LIEU)
Credit: BBC/NBC Universal / Richard Lewisohn
