

Dickens goes full capitalist nightmare and it's weirdly hot.
Season 1 • Episode 4
LatestCharles Dickens' bleak, passionate novel about the challenges of life in 19th-century London comes to life.
Acting
Alan Bates devours scenery as the lying blowhard Bounderby.
Production
Coketown looks genuinely carcinogenic. You can taste the coal.
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Dickens wrote this to roast utilitarian philosopher Jeremy Bentham. The 'Greatest Happiness Principle' aged poorly.
Bob Peck died the year after filming. His Gradgrind is one of his final performances — all rigid control masking panic.