Hannah Waddingham to Lead Tiddler Animated Christmas Special at the BBC

“Ted Lasso” star Hannah Waddingham will lend her voice to “Tiddler,” an animated special from the BBC set to air this Christmas.

Alongside the BBC, the animation is being produced by the Oscar-nominated Magic Light Pictures, based on the popular children’s picture book of the same name by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler. According to its official synopsis, “Tiddler” tells the story of a “small grey fish with a big imagination who gets lost in the deep wide ocean, until he’s saved by his own storytelling.”

Waddingham is set to narrate the half-hour special, which will feature Lolly Adefope (“Ghosts,” “Saltburn”) as Miss Skate, Jayde Adams (“Ruby Speaking,” “Alma’s Not Normal”) as Plaice and other characters and Rob Brydon (“Gavin and Stacey,” “The Trip”) taking on the roles of the Fisherman, Whale, Starfish and Anchovy. Child actors Reuben Kirby and Theo Fraser also star as Tiddler and Johnny Dory, respectively.

“Every day, Tiddler tells a different story to his teacher and his friend Johnny Dory about why he’s late for school,” the synopsis continues. “His stories stretch from riding on seahorses or swimming around a shipwreck to being captured by a squid. His stories are so great that word of mouth helps them travel through the ocean and so, when Tiddler gets lost, he realizes they may help him find a way home. The film is an underwater adventure about the power of imagination and finding confidence in yourself – and how to be content as a little fish in a big ocean.”

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In a statement, Waddingham said her narrator role was “a real joy to record,” adding that “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.”

“Tiddler” marks the 12th book from Donaldson and Scheffler to be adapted into an animated special by Magic Light Pictures for the BBC. Andy Martin and Alex Bain direct from a script by Michael Bohnenstingl, with Barney Goodland and Martin Pope producing for Magic Light. “Tiddler” was acquired by Charlotte Moore, BBC chief content officer and Nawfal Faizullah, BBC drama commissioning editor.

“Tiddler” will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer this Christmas.

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Larita Shotwell

Update: 2024-09-28

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