BBC Four Orders M.R. James Adaptation ‘Martin’s Close’, Peter Capaldi To Star
BBC Four has ordered Martin's Close, a one-off half-hour adaptation of M.R. James ghost story of the same name for their Christmas schedule. Peter Capaldi (Doctor Who, The Thick Of It) is attached to star. Martin's Close is set in 1684 and follows John Martin, who is on trial for his life. Facing him, the infamous ‘hanging Judge’, George Jeffreys. But this is not a cut and dried murder case. Because the innocent girl Martin is accused of killing has been seen after her death. 
BBC Four has acquired Spanish period drama The Plague in a deal with international distributor Sky Vision and given the green-light to The Dead Room, a new one-off ghost story from Mark Gatiss starring Simon Callow, Anjli Mohindra, Susan Penhaligon and Joshua Oakes-Rogers. Additionally, the channel has ordered a new factual series about the Yorkshire Ripper and a science documentary about eugenics. The programming announcements were made today by BBC Four Controller Cassian Harrison during a joint Meet The Controller session with BBC Two Controller Patrick Holland at the Edinburgh TV Festival. You can see the BBC Two shows that were announced