Mark Gatiss reveals which Ghost Story for Christmas he wants to do next – as he calls for "extraordinary" BBC to be saved

The Room in the Tower is the eighth Ghost Story for Christmas from the pen of Mark Gatiss, continuing a tradition originated in the 1970s by director/producer Lawrence Gordon Clark.

Gatiss first visited the format in 2013 with The Tractate Middoth, with regular annual instalments then following since 2018 – but he has warned that the future of the franchise is not secure with the BBC's Royal Charter expiring at the end of 2027 and a government consultation underway to shape the broadcaster's future.

"This is a tiny slot, which thank God BBC Arts still keep going, it's basically an extinct form, a one-off TV play," Gatiss said at a screening of The Room in the Tower at the BFI Southbank.

"To me, it's about persisting – and every year it's a struggle to try and find the money. It's brilliant that the BBC is still really behind it."

Asked by an audience member how fans of the Ghost Story for Christmas strand could support it and help guarantee further instalments, Gatiss added: "I say this absolutely wholeheartedly – support the BBC. Everything's become conflated with BBC News – the BBC is an extraordinary, gestalt creature... always has been. It's full of flaws, but my God, the relentless attempts to kill it... It could easily happen – and it's not just for this, it's for everything it has always represented to all of us, and how cheap it is for what we get. It's extraordinary."

The Room in the Tower is based on the EF Benson short story and follows a man (Tobias Menzies) haunted by a recurring dream of a country estate and a malevolent force that lurks in the tower.

"I've always wanted to do this story, it was one of the first ones I read, and it absolutely made my hair stand on end when I was a kid," Gatiss said. "It was top of my list for a long time."

Though Benson's original was published in 1912, the television adaptation shifts the story forward to 1944, inventing a new framing device wherein Roger (Menzies) recounts his anxieties to a stranger (Nancy Carroll) he meets while sheltering from an air raid during the Blitz.

"The war and the immediate aftermath I find very interesting," said Gatiss, noting how his detective series Bookish is set in the same period. "I love the Tube – and I thought, 'What if I set the framing device there, during the Blitz?'

"Of course, in the story, it's an unnamed narrator who's narrating in the first person, so he needs to be telling the story to someone, so it sort of all came together."

If we do get another Ghost Story for Christmas in 2026, Gatiss already has a number of different terrifying tales in mind to adapt. "I always wanted to do [MR James short story] Casting the Runes, but it's an epic – it's an hour, or 90 minutes.

"Negotium Perambulans – that's a great one, [EF] Benson again. Green Tea [by Irish author J Sheridan Le Fanu], I often come back to... there's loads."

Read more:

• Mark Gatiss says his unmade Doctor Who story starring David Tennant could still be released
• Joanna Lumley confirmed for Mark Gatiss's annual Christmas Ghost Story with new first look
• Bookish season 2 gets major update from Mark Gatiss – here's how soon we can expect it to return

A Ghost Story for Christmas: The Room in the Tower airs on Christmas Eve (Wednesday, 24th December) at 10pm on BBC Two. Add to your watchlist on the Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more.

Check out more of our Fantasy coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.