The History Boys’ Sacha Dhawan and I Claudius’ John Castle will star alongside Doctor Who’s Louise Jameson and Sherlock’s Una Stubbs in Mark Gatiss’ adaptation of The Tractate Middoth for BBC Two this Christmas.

The half-hour drama based on the story by MR James will also feature David Ryall, Eleanor Bron, Nick Burns and Roy Barraclough. According to the BBC press release, “In a quiet academic library, John Eldred (Castle) seeks out the help of young Mr Garrett (Dhawan) in his search for a seemingly obscure Hebrew text. But there is something unusual about this book and something not entirely scholarly about Eldred’s intentions. Soon, Garrett’s hunt for the Tractate Middoth provokes terrifying apparitions in the library and a vengeful menace from beyond the grave.”

Gatiss is making his directorial debut on the channel with this ghost story for Christmas, and is also making a documentary about MR James to accompany the broadcast.