Lot No. 249 is Mark Gatiss’ latest A Ghost Story for Christmas and is premiering on Christmas Eve on BBC Two at 10pm.
Based on a short story by Arthur Conan Doyle, the festive thriller tells of three young Oxford University academics, one of whom, Edward Bellingham (Freddie Fox), resurrects something terrifying.
It’s up to fellow students Abercrombie Smith (Kit Harington) and Monkhouse Lee (Colin Ryan) to try to return the monster from whence it came.
Here’s everything you need to know about the A Ghost Story for Christmas: Lot No. 249 cast.
Kit Harington is Abercrombie Smith, a model student and athlete at Oxford University
English actor Kit Harington, 36, plays Abercrombie Smith, a strait-laced Oxford University student who does everything by the book.
He’s not sure about Bellingham’s experiments, seeking to stop him from unleashing a monstrosity on the world.
Kit Harington is probably someone everybody who owns a TV (and plenty who don’t) recognises. That’s due to his leading role in hit HBO fantasy series Game of Thrones, which aired from 2011 to 2019. Kit portrayed Jon Snow, the illegitimate son of Ned Stark (Sean Bean), in his first role in television. His character grew steadily more important as the series progressed, as Jon Snow rose from black sheep to possible rightful heir to the throne. Kit received nominations for a Golden Globe Award and two Primetime Emmy Awards for the role.
That’s not all, however. In 2014, Kit starred as gladiator Milo in Pompeii and Roland Leighton in WW1 drama Testament of Youth. In 2015, he appeared alongside Andy Samberg in HBO mockumentary 7 Days in Hell, and with Peter Firth in Spooks: The Greater Good.
Next up was BBC One drama Gunpowder in 2017, a project close to Kit’s heart. He produced and starred in the show, which was about his own ancestor, Robert Catesby. Catesby was the ringleader of the Catholics who plotted to blow up parliament. Guy Fawkes may have stolen his thunder, but it was actually all down to Catesby.
After Game of Thrones, he starred in Netflix‘s Criminal in 2020 and Amazon Prime Video‘s Modern Love in 2021. He also had a role alongside Game of Thrones co-star Richard Madden in Eternals, a Marvel Cinematic Universe movie.
Baby Ruby followed in 2022, as did AppleTV+ anthology series Extrapolations in 2023.
This year so far, his film Blood for Dust premiered at Tribeca. The action thriller received positive reviews from critics, with a general release coming soon.
Colin Ryan is Monkhouse Lee, a foreign student from Siam and Smith’s friend
Birmingham-born actor Colin Ryan plays Monkhouse Lee, a fellow Oxford University student from Siam. Despite his heritage, Monkhouse is not particularly worldly.
Colin Ryan, 37, may be a new face to some – but he’s been in a few things you might recognise. He first starred in Hounded, alongside Rufus Hound, in 2010.
His biggest role to date was Lorenzo de’ Medici, the rebellious son of the wealthy Medici family, in Leonardo on CBBC between 2011-2012. Leonardo explored the teenage years of Leonardo Da Vinci (Jonathan Bailey).
In 2017, he played a roommate of Bill (Pearl Mackie) in Doctor Who episode ‘Knock Knock’.
In 2021, Colin starred in Death in Paradise‘s tenth season. He also had a recurring role in Spanish historical drama Boundless, which dramatised the 16th century Magellan expedition.
Video game fans might also have reason to recognise Colin – or at least his voice. From 2015-2021, he played Alphinaud, a companion of the player character, in the Final Fantasy XIV games.
Freddie Fox is Edward Bellingham, a free-spirited Eastern Languages student conducting dangerous experiments
English actor Freddie Fox plays Edward Bellingham, a mysterious student who purchases Lot No. 249 with ulterior motives.
Freddie, 34, first rose to prominence in multiple queer roles. He played Marilyn in Boy George biopic Worried About the Boy in 2010, followed by Jeff Cole in Pride (2014) and a main role in Russell T. Davies‘ two LGBTQ+ series Cucumber and Banana (2015). Freddie played Freddie Baxter, a sexually confident young man hiding a difficult past.
Other appearances include Marple (2009), The Shadow Line (2011), The Three Musketeers (2011), Lewis (2012) and The Riot Club (2014).
In 2020, he made a splash on ITV in White House Farm, the drama about the real-life Essex murders. Freddie portrayed Jeremy Bamber, who was later convicted of the killings – despite trying to pin the blame elsewhere. Stephen Graham and Mark Addy also starred.
That year, he appeared in The Crown, in which he played Margaret Thatcher’s son Mark, and McDonald & Dodds. He also started appearing in satirical Catherine The Great comedy, The Great, in which he has played King Hugo for three seasons so far.
He voiced Dennis in the highly-rated revival of CBBC’s Dennis & Gnasher: Unleashed! from 2017-2020.
Most recently, he’s starred alongside Gary Oldman in AppleTV+ spy thriller Slow Horses. In the series, he plays James “Spider” Webb, an MI5 agent.
John Heffernan plays The Friend in the Lot No. 249 cast
Essex actor John Heffernan’s early career included Holby City spin-off Holby Blue (2007) and radio soap The Archers (2008). He played Constable Felix in The Shadow Line (2011), as well as Francis in two episodes of The Hollow Crown (2012).
John played the regular role of Ashley Roehampton in ITV comedy drama Love and Marriage in 2013. He then starred as Ronald Capshaw in Ripper Street in 2014 and James Griffin in Foyle’s War in 2015.
Next was a role in award-winning American miniseries Sons of Liberty (2015), alongside Hollywood actor Ben Barnes.
The big time came with 2015’s Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, in which he played Lascelles – a man with too much money on his hands who wants to be part of Mr Norrell’s (Eddie Marsan) inner circle.
BBC One drama Dickensian (2015-2016) came next, in which he played the regular role of Mr Jaggers.
He starred as Dr Simon Marr in ITV drama The Loch (2017), as well as Sam Spence in Collateral (2018).
In the 2020s, he has played Linus Forster in The Banishing (2020), Davey in Amazon’s The Pursuit of Love (2021) and the Duke of Somerset in Starz drama Becoming Elizabeth (2022).
James Swanton plays The Mummy, the mysterious ancient being residing in Lot No. 249
James Swanton plays The Mummy, a monster previously lost to Ancient Egypt. That is until Edward Bellingham begins experimenting with the contents of Lot No. 249.
James is no stranger to horror films, or playing monsters. As well as The Mummy, he’s played the Spirit in Host (2020) and the title role in Frankenstein’s Creature (2018). Mark Gatiss describes him as “a fantastic physical performer”.
His other spooky roles include Klaus von Primple in I Am Tim (2017), Darkness in Black Mass (2020), and The Parasite in Dashcam (2021)
He played the Jack in Jack in the Box: The Awakening (2022) and Solomon the Torturer in The Haunting of Bloody Tower (2022).
In 2023, James has appeared as The Ash Man in Stopmotion and The Still Man in Stop Dead.
Who else is in the Lot No. 249 cast?
Jonathan Rigby plays Long Norton. Jonathan is perhaps best known for his role as Kenneth Horne in the stage revival of Round the Horne in the early 2000s. The show was such a success that he appeared in both a TV movie as Horne and in the 2004 Royal Variety Performance. In 2017, Jonathan was playing Horne in new theatre show Horne A’Plenty.
Also in 2017, Jonathan took the role of paranormal investigator Harry Price in 2017 animated horror film Borley Rectory.
Jonathan’s worked with Mark Gatiss multiple times – including Doctor Who spin-off series P.R.O.B.E. in 1994-1996 and A History of Horror with Mark Gatiss (2010).
Outside of acting, Jonathan is a film historian and has written several books. These largely focus on horror films, and include English Gothic: Classic Horror Cinema 1897-2015.
Andrew Horton plays Styles. Andrew’s best known for his role in the 2021 Netflix superhero series Jupiter’s Legacy. He played Brandon Sampson, the son of superheroes Sheldon (Josh Duhamel) and Grace (Leslie Bibb). Though it was Netflix’s most-watched show the week it was released, the series was cancelled after one season.
Roles in Doctors, How To Talk To Girls At Parties and It Came from the Desert followed in 2017.
In 2023 so far, he’s starred as Tyler in horror film Slotherhouse.
A Ghost Story for Christmas: Lot No. 249 premieres on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer from December 24 – Christmas Eve! – at 10pm.
Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix – let us know what you think of Lot No. 249 this Christmas.
Susan Brett
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