Oliver Twist - Region 2

Based, as you’d expect, on the Dickens text, and adapted with real skill by Sarah Phelps, Oliver Twist is a strong three hours of drama. The script isn’t ideal for the Dickens purist, as Phelps has brought some new ideas to her work, but it’s hard to quibble with the quality of the drama that results.

Oliver Twist’s outstanding cast is led by Timothy Spall, and also brings together Tom Hardy, Sophie Okenedo, Edward Fox, Sarah Lancashire and Gregor Fisher among others. They inherit and inhabit Dickens’ varied collection of characters with exceptional skill, and they help to vividly bring the tale of the artful dodger to the small screen.

It should be noted that Oliver Twist isn’t a perfect production, with the deviations from the source material presenting a couple of talking points. But it conforms ably to the high standards we’ve come to expect from BBC costume productions, and while it’s not their finest work, it’s a very good piece of television drama that’s well worth investing your time in. --Jon Foster