This series has a Star Wars connection. Lindsay Duncan, Keira Knightley and Andy Serkis appeared in a Star Wars film. Marc Warren was the stand-in for Ewan McGregor in स्टार वॉर्स: पहला भाग - अनदेखा खतरा (1999). Obi-Wan Kenobi was originally portrayed by Sir Alec Guinness who also portrayed Fagin in Oliver Twist (1948). Duncan's husband Hilton McRae portrayed A wing pilot, Arvel Crynyd in Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983).
The flowery wording in the episode titles was based on the language which Charles Dickens used for the chapter titles in his original novel "Oliver Twist".
This series has a Doctor Who connection. Marc Warren, Lindsay Duncan, Sophia Myles and Roger Lloyd Pack appeared in a Doctor Who (2005) David Tennant story.