Among Peacock's holiday fare sits Genie, directed by Sam Boyd (Love Life) and written by Richard Curtis (Love Actually and Bridget Jones' Diary). The new film is based on Curtis' 1991 TV movie, Bernard and the Genie, which starred Alan Cumming and Lenny Henry. The Christmas message at the heart of the story is tinged with a supernatural plot device, as a magical being forms an unlikely friendship with a hapless human.