Joanna Lumley confirmed for Mark Gatiss’s annual Christmas Ghost Story with new first look

The show will feature Joanna Lumley, known for her role in Wednesday, and Tobias Menzies, from F1. They’ll be joined by Nancy Carroll (Father Brown), Ben Mansfield (Sister Boniface Mysteries), and Polly Walker (Bridgerton).

This story, inspired by an EF Benson tale and taking place between World War I and World War II, centers around Roger Winstanley. For 15 years, he’s been troubled by a strange, repeating dream: He receives an invitation to stay overnight at a friend’s house. In this dream, a hidden danger exists, and the people he encounters appear to age rapidly in real time.

The line between nightmares and reality blurs when an invitation to the feared ‘room in the tower’ unexpectedly turns out to be genuine. It feels like a terrifying dream come true.

According to Gatiss, who wrote and directed the programme, he’s long been eager to adapt the ghost stories of EF Benson, and considers this one of Benson’s most unsettling. He also expressed his pleasure at continuing the beloved tradition of Christmas ghost stories. He stated that The Room in the Tower is ready for viewers, and features performances by Tobias Menzies and the acclaimed Dame Joanna Lumley.

At the same time, Mark Bell, the commissioning editor for BBC Arts, stated: “Mark and the team have assembled a fantastic cast for this captivating and eerie story, blending dreams with frightening realities. ‘I have given you the room in the tower‘ is a phrase no one will welcome after seeing this holiday-themed ghost story.”

This marks Mark Gatiss’s eighth Ghost Story for Christmas. He previously wrote and starred in The Tractate Middoth, The Dead Room, Martin’s Close, The Mezzotint, Count Magnus, Lot No 249, and last year’s Woman of Stone.

The Room in the Tower will bring Gatiss and Walker back together, as Walker also appears in Gatiss’s murder mystery series, Bookish, which premiered on U&Alibi earlier this year. Viewers can also look forward to a second season of the show, which is already in production.