Jo Walker

It’s 1881, and Old College, Oxford plays host to three very different academics. Abercrombie Smith is a model of Victorian manhood, clean of limb and sound of mind. Monkhouse Lee is a delicate and unworldly student from Thailand. And occupying the rooms between them is the strange and exotic Edward Bellingham, whose unnatural researches into the secrets of ancient Egypt are the talk of the college. Can Bellingham’s experiments truly bring the breath of life to the horrifying bag of bones that is the mysterious Lot No 249?

I Hate Suzie Too, the three-part anti-Christmas special, written by Lucy Prebble (Secret Diary of a Call Girl, The Effect, Succession) and Billie Piper (Doctor Who, Yerma, Rare Beasts), follows former child star Suzie Pickles, also played by Piper, as she attempts to rebuild her public image after losing her marriage, her agent and primary custody of her son in the wake of the photo-hacking scandal. Desperate for redemption, Suzie signs on to the chaotic reality dance competition Dance Crazee Xmas, where every performance becomes another battle for public approval.

An endearing outlier, Brian lives alone in a Welsh valley, inventing oddball contraptions that seldom work. After finding a discarded mannequin head, Brian gets an idea. Three days, a washing machine, and sundry spare parts later, he’s invented Charles, an artificially intelligent robot who learns English from a dictionary and proves a charming, cheeky companion. Before long, however, Charles also develops autonomy. Intrigued by the wider world — or whatever lies beyond the cottage where Brian has hidden him away — Charles craves adventure.

A young squire accused of murdering a young girl that did not return his feelings of love reveals a supernatural secret at his trial.

A couple seem to voice the deepest doubts they have about their relationship, over a pleasant meal at home.

A lonely social outcast gets a glimpse of what life is like for someone popular, and cannot let it go, even in death.