Alexander Larman

His Dark Materials is the perfect Christmas viewing

Like Philip Pullman's books, the third instalment of the BBC series is fascinatingly provocative

  • From Spectator Life
Dafne Keen as Lyra Belacqua and Ruth Wilson as Mrs Coulter [BBC]

When you’re sitting on the sofa in the week ahead, stupefied into submission by food and alcohol and relatives and God knows what else, you’ll be tempted to watch something that will divert you from the gluttony. And, yes, the likes of Elf, It’s A Wonderful Life and Love Actually are all available, as they were last year.

But maybe you’ll want to watch something that is not just entertaining but that makes the viewer think. Something that also has a provocative religious theme that is, if not quite the three wise men and the star of Bethlehem, as relevant this time of year as it ever is.

Step forward the third series of His Dark Materials, all eight episodes of which became available on BBC iPlayer last night. Based on the novels by Philip Pullman, the show has somewhat flown under the radar in its previous two instalments, despite a starry cast including Ruth Wilson, James McAvoy and, in the lead role of Lyra, the excellent Dafne Keen.

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