The Artful Dodger: where to watch Oliver Twist sequel in UK, cast with Thomas Brodie-Sangster, release date

The Artful Dodger, a sequel to Charles Dickens novel Oliver Twist, follows Jack Dawkins and Norbert Fagin through their later criminal exploits in Australia.

The series, which boasts a grand cast including Queen’s Gambit star Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Harry Potter alum David Thewlis, and comedian and musician Tim Minchin, has been available to stream in the US last year, but finally has a UK release date.

Dodger, now living a semi-respectable life a doctor in an Australian penal colony, reunites with his former criminal conspirator Fagin, who has been shipped Down Under in chains.

Dawkins takes on Fagin as an assistant, to save him from the gallows, but is soon tempted back into a life of crime. Meanwhile, he falls in love with the governor’s daughter, Belle, who herself dreams of becoming a doctor, and secretly helps Dawkins in surgery, and together they make massive strides in treating patients.

All the while Captain Lucien Gaines has his eye on Dawkins and Fagin and attempts to arrest them at every turn, hoping to see their pair hung for their lawbreaking ways.

Is there a trailer for The Artful Dodger?

Yes there is, and you can watch it right here:

Who is in the cast of The Artful Dodger?

• Thomas Brodie-Sangster as Dr Jack Dawkins (Dodger)
• David Thewlis as  Norbert Fagin
• Maia Mitchell as Lady Belle Fox
• Damon Herriman as Captain Lucien Gaines
• Luke Carroll as Tim Billiberllary
• Vivienne Awosoga as Hetty Baggett
• Damien Garvey as Governor Edmund Fox
• Lucy-Rose Leonard as Lady Fanny Fox
• Tim Minchin as Darius Cracksworth
• Kim Gyngell as Professor Alistair McGregor
• Nicholas Burton as Dr Rainsford Sneed
• Susie Porter as Lady Jane Fox
• Albert Latailakepa as Aputi Savea
• Miranda Tapsell as  Frances 'Red' Scrubbs
• Brigid Zengeni as Rosemary 'Rotty' Falkirk
• Aljin Abella as Bayani 'Flashbang' Rivera
• Huw Higginson as Father Cruikshanks
• Jessica De Gouw as Peggy Gaines
• Tom Budge as Hon. Mortimer Smales
• Hal Cumpston as Oliver Twist

Where can you watch the Artful Dodger in the UK?

The Artful Dodger was released in the US on streaming service Hulu back in November 2023, but is finally arriving in the UK.

The series will be released on Disney+ in the UK, with the full series being released in one go. The series will land on the platform on Wednesday January 17 at 8am. There are eight episodes in the series. 

Is The Artful Dodger based on a Charles Dickens book?

No, the series is an original story based on characters from one of Dickens’ most popular novels, Oliver Twist.

The series features Dodger, now going by the name Jack Dawkins, and Fagin, who are now living in a British penal colony in Australia 15 years after the events of Oliver Twist, which saw both characters jailed for their lives of criminality.

The series also features other nods to Dickens’ work, with dialogue snatched from bibliography and the names of characters taken from his other works - such as Belle from A Christmas Carol.