Hannah Waddingham leads cast of BBC's Julia Donaldson adaptation

london, england april 14 hannah waddingham attends the olivier awards 2024 at the royal albert hall on april 14, 2024 in london, england photo by karwai tangwireimage
Hannah Waddingham leads cast of BBC specialKarwai Tang - Getty Images

Hannah Waddingham will lead the cast of the BBC's upcoming special Tiddler.

The Ted Lasso star is lending her voice to an adaptation of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler's beloved children's book, with the animated film set to air this Christmas on BBC One.

Donaldson and Scheffler penned the heroic tale of a fish who uses the power of storytelling to find his way home after becoming lost at sea.

Waddingham will narrate Tiddler, while Reuben Kirby voices the title character alongside Ghosts' Lolly Adefope and former Strictly Come Dancing contestant Jayde Adams in supporting roles.

Rob Brydon lends his voice to the BBC's Tiddler special for what will be a busy Christmas season for the comedian, as he will be returning for the Gavin and Stacey special as well.

"Voicing the narrator for this Christmas special from Magic Light Pictures has been a real joy to record," Waddingham said in a statement. "Tiddler is the tale of the storyteller in all of us, and helps children understand what it's like to be a small fish in a very big pond (and we've all felt THAT in life!).

"I have loved reading the books by Julia and Axel to my daughter over the years and it's so lovely to get to bring one of them to screen in this beautiful animation."

Julia Donaldson promises that the BBC's animated adaptation of Tiddler is inspired by the "storytelling and big imaginations" from her book.

"The film captures the heart of the story and brings it to life with a fantastic cast, I'm particularly impressed by the young child actors who take the lead in this adaptation," the author added.

Tiddler is the 12th animated adaptation of Donaldson's work produced for the BBC. All of the previous specials are available to stream now on the BBC iPlayer.

Waddingham is no stranger to festive programming, as she starred in her own streaming special Hannah Waddingham: Home for Christmas last year.

Tiddler airs at Christmas on BBC One and the BBC iPlayer.

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