Oliver Twist, BBC1

9:38am Friday 21st December 2007

Comments (0)   Have your say »

TRY as I might I cannot see Timothy Spall in anything without expecting him to break out into fluent Brummie and become Barry from Auf Wiedersehen Pet.

So it's been something of a shock to see him rubbing his hands as Fagin in the Beeb's high profile drama Oliver Twist.

It is a testament to what a good actor Spall is that he is totally convincing in the role.

A little-known fact is that he's not a natural Brummie anyway, the accent was just put on.

But I digress. Oliver Twist is an ideal seasonal offering and has shown that when it puts its mind to it the Beeb can certainly produce the goods.

I'm not a huge fan of so-called costume dramas' - I tried watching Cranford earlier in the week and had to give up after five minutes.

But there's just something about Dickens that's forever enthralling. The man was a natural storyteller which means his work will - with a little care and consideration - always work well on the small screen.

True, you are never going to beat the musical version featuring Jack Wild as the Artful Dodger and Mark Lester as Oliver, but as TV drama series go, this latest version of Oliver Twist has been very good.

Bleak House and Little Dorrit have also proved worthy adaptations so there should be a clear message, let's have more Dickens!