BBC’s new take on Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol suggests Scrooge was sexually abused at school as a child, features his father killing his mouse with a knife and sees him offering Tiny Tim’s mother cash in return for ‘vice’
- SPOILER ALERT
- A Christmas Carol last night suggested Scrooge was sexually abused as a child
- He apparently offered money for Tiny Tim’s operation for sex with boy’s mother
- In one scene, Scrooge’s father was seen beating his son and killing his mouse
- Scrooge revisits past and his father leaves him with headmaster for Christmas
It’s a bleak BBC dramatisation that has already divided opinion.
But last night’s episode of A Christmas Carol went even darker by suggesting Scrooge was sexually abused as a child.
The BBC1 production also showed Scrooge, played by Hollywood star Guy Pearce, apparently offering money for Tiny Tim to have an operation in exchange for sex with the disabled boy’s mother.
Last night’s episode of A Christmas Carol went dark by suggesting Scrooge was sexually abused as a child. Pictured: The boy with his headmaster
The BBC1 production also showed Scrooge, played by Hollywood star Guy Pearce (pictured), apparently offering money for Tiny Tim to have an operation in exchange for sex with the disabled boy’s mother
In one scene, Scrooge’s father was seen beating his son, using the f-word repeatedly and killing his mouse with a knife.
When Scrooge revisits his past it was revealed that his father would leave him alone with the headmaster for Christmas in exchange for waiving school fees.
The master tells the boy: ‘It’s just you and I here for Christmas. Of course, I won’t expect you to sleep here on your own. You’ll be with me – just like last year.’
In another scene that strays wildly from Charles Dickens’s original text, Mary Cratchit visited Scrooge to get money for an operation for her son, Tiny Tim.
Scrooge asked what she would do in return, saying he liked to experiment with ‘virtue and vice’ and wanted to know the exchange rate for ‘compassion’.
The opening episode on Sunday averaged 4.7million viewers.
But some have criticised the three-part series for its grimness, foul language and mumbled dialogue. One posted on social media: ‘Why the gratuitous swearing?’
Some have criticised the three-part series for its grimness, foul language and mumbled dialogue. One posted on social media: ‘Why the gratuitous swearing?’ Pictured: Andy Serkis as the Ghost of Christmas Past