Sheridan Smith leads The Baddies onto Bbc One this Christmas
Sheridan Smith is bringing The Baddies to one and iPlayer this Christmas, with the half-hour special set to join the broadcaster’s festive animation slate. Smith said it was “a joy to be part of bringing The Baddies to life,” as the new Magic Light Pictures adaptation moves from page to primetime.
Smith joins the voices
The voice cast pairs Smith with Rob Brydon as Ghost, Alison Steadman as Witch, Hammed Animashaun as Troll, Robyn Cara as Girl and Francesca Mills as Mouse. That lineup gives the special a broad mix of comedy and character voices, which is the practical selling point for a family title competing for holiday viewing time.
Dame Julia Donaldson said, “The Baddies was enormous fun to write because I loved inventing these gloriously wicked characters and then thinking about what might happen when they finally meet someone brave enough to outwit them. Magic Light has done a brilliant job bringing the story to life and the cast have captured all the humour, silliness and spookiness perfectly.”
Magic Light's festive run
The Baddies is the latest animated adaptation from Magic Light’s run of Donaldson and Axel Scheffler titles, following The Gruffalo, Zog and The Scarecrows’ Wedding. That lineage matters because The Scarecrows’ Wedding drew 8.7 million viewers across the festive period on a 28-day BARB basis and became Christmas week’s most watched programme in the UK.
It also delivered Magic Light’s highest-ever audience share at 48.2%, which is the benchmark this new special will be judged against. Lindsay Salt said, “It’s with a mix of excitement and trepidation that we welcome The Baddies to iPlayer and One this Christmas.”
Ghost, Witch and Troll
The story follows a troll, a ghost and a witch who love being bad and boasting about it. When a girl with a blue spotty hanky moves into a nearby cottage, a mouse sets a challenge for the Baddies to see who can steal it, giving the special a simple rivalry the family audience can follow quickly.
Andy Martin and Sarah-Jane Knox direct the film, with Barney Goodland and Martin Pope producing for Magic Light Pictures and Nawfal Faizullah overseeing it for the. Families who have already made room for the broadcaster’s Christmas animation slot get another Donaldson-Scheffler adaptation with a familiar structure: a short runtime, a clear central chase and a cast built to carry the jokes.
