GHOSTS OF CHRISTMAS PAST AND PRESENT

17

The curator of a university art museum feels a surge of excitement when he acquires a beautiful engraving. But Williams (Rory Kinnear) quickly senses there’s something odd about the picture of an unknown country house with sweeping lawns. Every time he looks at it, human figures appear then disappear. The 30-minute drama (the title of which refers to a piece of art carved on a copper plate) has been scripted by Mark Gatiss from a 1904 tale by British ghost story writer MR James.

18

In this seasonal episode of the hit sitcom,

Kitty, the spirit of a Georgian noblewoman, believes Santa’s visited Button House where she and the other spooks live. A man has taken up residence in a tent in the grounds, giving

Kitty (Lolly Adefope) the wrong idea. The mansion’s owner Alison (Charlotte Ritchie) asks the ghosts, including the Captain and poet Thomas, what to do about the mystery visitor, but their guidance leaves much to be desired.

Jennifer Saunders guest stars as Lady Button’s mother.

THE MEZZOTINT BBC2 GHOSTS BBC1 19 THE AMAZING MR BLUNDEN

SKY MAX Teenagers Jamie and Lucy Allen have a Christmas adventure courtesy of the mysterious Mr Blunden (Simon Callow, left), who invites their mum to be a caretaker of a dilapidated country house that’s said to be haunted. They meet two ghostly children in the grounds, but it turns out they’ve actually travelled from 1821, desperate to escape the murderous clutches of scary Mr and Mrs Wickens (Tamsin Greig and Mark Gatiss). With Mr Blunden’s help, Jamie and Lucy go back in time on a mission to save their new pals. Mark Gatiss, the writer and director, describes the show as ‘magical, with scary villains, melancholy, laughter and joy.’