David Farnor | On 19, Dec 2020

Aisling Bea. Tom Davis and David Walliams have joined the cast for BBC Two’s lockdown panto production of Cinderella.

Written by the Dawson Brothers, based on an original script by Ben Crocker, Cinderella: A Comic Relief Pantomime For Christmas will be a stay-at-home retelling of the timeless panto classic, with a star-studded cast assembling online and giving everyone a very special version of the fairy-tale.

Aisling Bea (This Way Up, Quiz) will play Mrs Snitch, Tom Davis (King Gary, Murder In Successville) will play Mr Snatch and David Walliams (Britain’s Got Talent) will play Major Domo. In addition, there will be music from multi award winning and word renowned music artists – Sam Smith and Leona Lewis – plus there will be a host of cameos too from lots of famous faces including Rosie Jones, Lord Alan Sugar, Claire Foy, James Blunt, David Tennant, Sir Mo Farrah and Hugh Bonneville.

They join the previously announced Olivia Colman (The Crown, Fleabag, The Favourite) as The Fairy Godmother, Guz Khan (Man Like Mobeen, Four Weddings And A Funeral) as Buttons, Tom Hollander (Rev, Us, The Night Manager) as Baron Hardup, Helena Bonham Carter (The King’s Speech, The Crown, Harry Potter) as Lady Devilia, Anya Taylor-Joy (The Queen’s Gambit, Emma) as Cinderella, Regé-Jean Page (Roots, Bridgerton) as Prince Charming, Jimmy Akingbola (Rev, In The Long Run) as Dandini and Daisy May and Charlie Cooper (This Country) as The Evil Step Sisters.

Cinderella: A Comic Relief Pantomime for Christmas will be broadcast on BBC Two on Thursday 24th December at 8.15pm and an extended version will also be available on BBC iPlayer.

 

Olivia Colman to star in virtual Cinderella pantomime for BBC Two

4th December 2020

Olivia Colman will star in Cinderella: A Comic Relief Pantomime For Christmas, BBC Two has announced.

Written by the Dawson Brothers, based on an original script by Ben Crocker, the hour-long special will be a retelling of the timeless panto classic, with a star-studded cast assembling online to give everyone a unique, virtual version of the fairy-tale.

Colman (The Crown) will be making her panto debut as Fairy Godmother and will lead an all-star cast that includes Guz Khan (Man Like Mobeen) as Buttons, Tom Hollander (Rev) as Baron Hardup, Helena Bonham Carter (The Crown) as Lady Devilia, Anya Taylor-Joy (The Queen’s Gambit) as Cinderella, Rege-Jean Page (Roots) as Prince Charming, Jimmy Akingbola (Rev) as Dandini and Daisy May Cooper and Charlie Cooper (This Country) as The Evil Step Sisters.

In addition to all this, Quentin Blake has created a host of original hand-drawn illustrations to help bring the panto to life for everyone watching at home. The production promises surprises and cameos aplenty, including “an incredibly famous person wearing an incredibly unconvincing horse costume”.

Patrick Ho-Ho-Ho-Holland, Controller of BBC Two, says: “This is a unique surprise at the end of a year when we all need cheering up. Thank you so much to Richard Curtis and the team at Comic Relief for assembling such a stellar cast to deliver us a pantomime to remember.”

Richard Curtis, Executive Producer and Founder of Comic Relief, says: ”We’re hugely grateful to BBC Two and the amazing cast for allowing us to do our first ever pantomime. It’ll be very funny and merry – and also a great seasonal opportunity to raise crucial funds for the projects that will help the most vulnerable people, at home and abroad – especially now when Covid has made things harder than ever for many.”

Cinderella: A Comic Relief Pantomime for Christmas will be broadcast at 8.15pm on BBC Two on Thursday 24th December and will also be available on BBC iPlayer.

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