The StoryTeller: Series 1 | A Story Short (Episode 3)

Episode 3: In an adaptation of the Stone Soup fable, the StoryTeller recounts a time in his life when he came upon a castle as a beggar and talked himself into a commission to tell the king a story each night for a year. On the last very day he couldn't come up with one and would have been boiled alive in oil for breaking the deal, if it weren't for the timely arrival of a mysterious beggar.

From an early Celtic folk tale according to the creators of the series. Based on a folk tale with many variants worldwide.
This is the only episode where the StoryTeller himself plays a major part in the story he tells. The other actors include Brenda Blethyn as the StoryTeller's wife, Bryan Pringle as the cook, Richard Vernon as the King, and John Kavanagh as the Beggar. This episode was directed by Charles Sturridge.