The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby: Story, Cast and Series Facts

Story and premise

This Nicholas Nickleby is the Royal Shakespeare Company's epic eight-and-a-half-hour adaptation of the life and times of the eponymous school-teacher. The 1982 production (originally staged in two parts) won worldwide acclaim and was such a success that Britain's then-newest TV station, Channel 4, launched a joint venture with independent production company Primetime to bring Nicholas Nickleby to a television audience. The result is this wonderfully theatrical version, filmed at the Old Vic and starring much of the original stage cast. It manages to stay true to Trevor Nunn's original artistic vision of Dickens's damning incitement of England's educational system. The ensemble cast are superb: Roger Rees as Nicholas is a bright-eyed idealist, every inch the young romantic hero whose principles are often his downfall, but ultimately his salvation; Alun Armstrong's twisted, embittered Squeers is every inch the Dickensian villain; and David Threlfall is transformed as Smike, Squeers' piteously subjugated, crippled servant and gives the most moving performances of his career. This enthralling TV adaptation recreates the magic of the stage version for all those who were unable to catch it on its pitifully short run. It doesn't pull any punches as the humour and inspiring storyline are tempered with real dark and tragic episodes. Forget the Hollywood fluff, this is the version you should watch if you want a faithful retelling of Dickens's story.

Series details

• Title: The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby
• Format: Scripted
• Language: English
• Genres: Drama
• Premiere date: 1982-11-07
• Final broadcast date listed: 1982-12-23
• Status in TVmaze: Ended
• Network listed by TVmaze: Channel 4
• Network country: United Kingdom
• Typical episode runtime: 55 minutes
• TVMaze ID: 23348
• IMDb ID: tt0082660
• TVDB ID: 84999

Cast and credited roles

• Roger Rees — Nicholas Nickelby
• Alun Armstrong — Wackford Squeers / Mr. Wagstaff
• David Threlfall — Smike
• John Woodvine — Ralph Nickleby / Opera Singer
• Suzanne Bertish — Fanny Squeers / Miss Snevelicci / Milliner
• Ian McNeice — Young Wackford Squeers / Scaley / Croupier

Seasons in the TVmaze catalogue

• Season 1: premiered 1982-11-07; final listed air date 1982-12-23; episode order: 10.

Source and licence

Adapted from The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby on TVmaze. The synopsis is reproduced as plain text; catalogue facts, cast and season records are selected and reformatted. This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, following the TVmaze API licence. Network and web-channel credits identify the service listed in this source; they do not establish current streaming availability.