| The Bleak Old Shop of Stuff | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Comedy |
| Written by | Mark Evans |
| Directed by | Ben Gosling Fuller |
| Starring | Robert Webb Katherine Parkinson Finlay Christie Ambra Lily Keegan |
| Composer | Grant Olding |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 4 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Mark Freeland |
| Producer | Gareth Edwards |
| Running time | Episode one (1 hour) followed by three 30-minute episodes in series one. |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC Two BBC HD |
| Release | 19 December 2011 – 5 March 2012 |
| Infobox instructions (only shown in preview) | |
The Bleak Old Shop of Stuff is a four-part comedy series produced by BBC, which premiered on BBC Two on 19 December 2011. It is a parody of the works of Charles Dickens, drawing its title from Bleak House and The Old Curiosity Shop. It is a television successor to Bleak Expectations, a radio parody of Dickens which began in 2007, and with which it shares the writer Mark Evans, producer Gareth Edwards and actor Richard Johnson; while not a direct adaptation it shares the same style, atmosphere and sense of humour. It is directed by Ben Gosling Fuller, who also directed the show That Mitchell and Webb Look.
The main characters are played by Robert Webb and Katherine Parkinson with cameos and guest appearances from celebrities including Stephen Fry, David Mitchell, Phyllida Law, Johnny Vegas and Adrian Edmondson. Some of the cast from Bleak Expectations including Sarah Hadland, Richard Johnson, Susy Kane and Tom Allen also appear.
The series was commissioned to coincide with the bicentenary of Charles Dickens' birth.[1] The last episode aired on 5 March 2012.