Bridgerton's Luke Thompson talks tackling a "provocative" classic for the BBC – and its parallels with Benedict

More than 136 years after it was first published, Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray remains as beguiling and as relevant as ever.

The late-Victorian gothic examines society's obsession with youth and beauty through the eponymous anti-hero, who becomes consumed with his own image after posing for a portrait.

After making a Faustian pact to remain as he's depicted in the artwork – while it decays in his place – Dorian is driven mad by its deterioration, which reflects his own moral failings and cruelty.

Already the subject of many an adaptation, Wilde's only published novel is being revisited for the BBC, with a new reading narrated by Bridgerton star Luke Thompson.

The actor spoke exclusively to Radio Times about what first attracted him to the text and whether he saw any parallels between Dorian and Benedict Bridgerton.

What drew you to The Picture of Dorian Gray for The Read?

Luke: I’ve always been curious about why stories stick around. I’d heard about this book, and 140 years later, it’s still provocative and unsettling, and still thrills people. And if the page seems unappealing, having someone speak it to you can help bring the story to life. It takes us back to being a kid somehow, I think.

Would you ever want to star in an adaptation of the novel?

Luke: Well, I just have! This job wasn’t a practise round for something else, I’d hate to watch someone just warming up..

Why do you think The Picture of Dorian Gray is still so important and what do you think it can say about our society today?

Luke: We seem to live in a moralising world where everyone is very keen on deciding what’s good and bad. We like to think we have moved on from the Victorians, but maybe we’ve just dressed up our moralising differently. This story asks: what if what’s moral is not as important as what’s beautiful. It’s a pretty wild thought to entertain, when we are so obsessed with justifying what’s right, wrong, productive, healthy or useful, and we’re not comfortable with beauty just for the hell of it. We say it’s superficial . A part of us can’t stand that beauty doesn’t need explaining, that it’s profound, maybe more profound than morals. This thriller takes that idea to its craziest limit.

With Bridgerton series 4 coming out recently, did you spot any parallels between the show and Dorian Gray, particularly when it comes to Benedict?

Luke: Well they’re very different worlds and characters, but I guess Benedict is by nature is uncertain, quite open to influence, and seems in his own gentle way to have been driven more by beauty than by moral codes.

The Picture of Dorian Gray: The Read with Luke Thompson will air on BBC Four and iPlayer at 9pm on Sunday 22 March.

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