Posted in: BBC, TV | Tagged: arthur conan doyle, bbc, game of thrones, Ghost Story for Christmas, Kit Harrington, Lot No. 249, mark gatiss, sherlock

Lot No. 249: Kit Harington on Playing the Hero in X'Mas Ghost Story

Kit Harington talks about playing the Victorian hero in Lot No. 249, this year's BBC Ghost Story for Christmas - a hero who knows nothing.

Published Fri, 08 Dec 2023 09:07:08 -0600

by Adi Tantimedh

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Article Summary

Kit Harington stars as a heroic Victorian in the BBC's Christmas ghost story Lot No. 249.
Freddie Fox co-stars, unleashing terror with a resurrected Egyptian mummy.
Adapted by Mark Gatiss, the show captures the essence of Conan Doyle’s narrative.
Watch the spine-chilling Lot No. 249 on BBC Two and iPlayer this Christmas Eve.

Kit Harington plays the square-jawed hero in Lot No. 249, this year's Ghost Story for Christmas on the BBC, adapted by Mark Gatiss from the short story by Sherlock Holmes creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Lot No. 249. The supernatural tale also stars Freddie Fox from Slow Horses as – what else? – a posh douchebag who's responsible for unleashing an Egyptian mummy as posh Victorian douchebags are wont to do. Harington's hero, who knows nothing (just like Game of Thrones' Jon Snow), is the one who has to sort it out somehow. Hilarity ensues.

The BBC was nice enough to send over an interview with Harington to talk about his earnest "You know nothing, Jon Snow"-type Victorian hero. It's amazing how many heroes in Victorian stories knew nothing but managed to somehow forth their way through. Lot No. 249 does just that.

Can you give an overview of Lot No. 249?

On the surface, it's a ripping old yarn about an Egyptian mummy terrorising an Oxford campus! Freddie Fox releases a murderous zombie, and my character smells a rat and tries to stop him. But maybe once you release something like that… it can't be put back in its box! It's a really fun caper penned originally by Conan Doyle and made into a wonderfully scary and frightful Christmas ghost story by the marvellous Mark Gatiss.

Tell us about your character – Abercrombie Smith?

He plays with a straight bat! Very proper. Doesn't want anything disturbing his world order. Doesn't trust anything that's not out of the textbooks of the time… he'll stick to his phrenology and be done with it, thank you very much!

What was it like working with Mark Gatiss and your fellow cast members – Freddie Fox et al. on Lot No. 249?

A dream. I have loved Gatiss and his work for a long time, and I adore his series of Christmas ghost stories. Freddie is a great, kind, generous, and brilliant actor. It was rapid and fun, and that was what Mark promised me. Let's get in, shoot something fun, and sit around at Christmas with mince pies and watch it. What a joy.

Did you know much of Conan Doyle's work (outside of Sherlock) before you took on this role? What did you take away from the experience?

No. Outside of Sherlock, I didn't. This has all of the elements that we love in Sherlock, though… the intrigue, the fantastical. I guess I take on the 'Sherlock-like' role in this piece…. but Smith is far too much of a box thinker to succeed in the ways Sherlock does.

I really enjoyed the period and how unashamedly 'Victorian' we were encouraged to play the parts. I knew that there was great room for play in the role with Mark directing, and that was wonderfully liberating.

Mark Gatiss says you really embodied the Victorian gentleman. Did the costumes and location help you bring the character to life?

Mark clearly saw that I'm a closet Victorian man trapped in a millennial body. I loved these costumes, I loved the moustache…I'd definitely do something of this period again.

How would you persuade your next-door neighbour to watch Lot No.249 at Christmas?

I mean, what's not to love? Egyptian killer mummy, Mark Gatiss directing and writing, Freddie Fox being evil, period costumes, and silly moustaches. It's nice and short and fun and will only give you minor nightmares!

Were you impressed by James' transformation into the Mummy?

He was genuinely scary. When he ran it was one of the more disturbing things I witnessed this year. We called him 'mummy' on set; it's quite a Freudian piece, really.

A Ghost Story for Christmas: Lot No. 249 will premiere on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer on 24 December at 10 pm in the UK and will likely stream on Britbox in the US.

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