TV&REVIEWS
Our pick of what to watch this week, plus the best podcasts and new books…
WORDS: ZOE WEST, RACHEL OGDEN, MICHAEL DARLING. PHOTOS: BBC, PRIME VIDEO, PARAMOUNT+. DETAILS CORRECT AT TIME OF WRITING
Lucy Montgomery and Rhys Thomas are the writing team behind the BAFTA-winning comedy Dodger. Set before the events of Oliver Twist, it follows the Artful Dodger and other characters from the Charles Dickens novel. As it returns for a Christmas special, the real-life couple reveal what’s in store for them…
Where did the idea for Dodger come from? Rhys: I wanted to write a prequel to Oliver Twist, because I like Dodger, Fagin, Bill Sikes and all those characters, and there’s a lot of fun to be had with them.
What are Dodger and the gang up to then? Lucy: In the year of King Charles’ coronation, we thought it would be fun to make an episode about Queen Victoria’s coronation. Dodger and his gang are attempting to steal the crown!
Tell us about the amazing guest stars you’ve got in this special… Lucy: Nicola Coughlan [from Bridgerton and Derry Girls] plays Queen Victoria and I’ve never seen her played the way that Nicola does. She’s absolutely hilarious.
Rhys: We’ve Toby Stephens playing US President Martin Van Buren, Simon Callow as the Archbishop of Canterbury and Paul Whitehouse as a beefeater.
As well as writing the show, you play Fagin’s landlady Minnie Bilge and dim copper PC Duff. Did you specifically earmark those roles for yourselves? Lucy: Rhys is extremely intelligent but great at playing idiots so that worked well and I enjoy playing an old hag! So, we auditioned ourselves and said we were brilliant at those parts! We’re also executive producers on it, so we oversee every aspect of the show.
Rhys: Apart from the catering. We don’t get involved in that. You can’t do everything!
✱ The Dodger Christmas special is on BBC iPlayer and CBBC
WHAT TO STREAM
The latest releases to watch on demand
The Doll Factory
Paramount+
Set in Victorian London, this six-part drama is about Iris (Esmé Creed-Miles), who works in a factory painting dolls’ faces but yearns to be an artist. When she meets painter Louis Frost (George Webster), she gets the chance, but it comes at a price.
Candy Cane Lane
Prime Video
Eddie Murphy stars as Chris, who’s determined to win his neighbourhood’s Christmas decorating contest, but when an elf brings the 12 Days o
