The star-studded Comic Relief pantomime is back, as writers Ben Crocker, Dawson Bros and Richard Curtis turn Beauty And The Beast into a festive panto delight to raise money for some very good causes.
Retuning to tell this years’ tale will be narrator Guz Khan as Bonzo. He will gleefully retell the beloved fairy-tale of an unlikely romance between a cursed beast and his warm-hearted prisoner as part of this new BBC Christmas tradition.
Lily James (pictured) will portray Beauty alongside Oliver Chris as The Beast (Trying, Motherland).
They will be joined by Kiell Smith-Bynoe (Ghosts, Stath Lets Flats) as Beauty’s brother Jacques, Sian Gibson (Murder, They Hope, Car Share) who plays their mother, Ma, and Susan Wokoma (Enola Holmes, Chewing Gum) stars as Amelie.
Further cast names and roles include Celia Imrie as Malabelle (Keeping Faith, Better Things), Simon Bird as Remy (Friday Night Dinner, The Inbetweeners), Pam Ferris as Marie (Call The Midwife, Holmes & Watson) and singer – songwriter Tom Rosenthal as Mr Bell.
But what will the cast do with the classic, Beauty And The Beast? In this unique interpretation there promises to be some clever cameras tricks, surprising moments of comedy and of course big guest stars popping up including Miranda Hart, Lenny Henry, David Tennant, David Walliams and Michael Sheen. Illustrations will once again be provided by Quentin Blake.
While viewers enjoy the show at home, they will have the opportunity to donate to Comic Relief, if they feel able to, to help support people living with hunger, struggling with their mental health or feeling lonely or unsafe.
Beauty And The Beast, comes off the back of last year’s Cinderella, which starred Regé-Jean Page, Olivia Colman, Helena Bonham Carter, Anya Taylor Joy and 007 himself, Daniel Craig as the horse Wheezy Jeff, which raised nearly £900,000 for Comic Relief. Cinderella is available on iPlayer here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000qryh
Sian Gibson says: “I thought my Panto career was behind me, but oh no its not! I’m so thrilled to be taking part in this years’ Comic Relief Pantomime for BBC Two, Beauty And The Beast. Just thrilled I’ve not been asked to play the beast actually. It's going to be lots of Christmassy fun and a great chance to raise crucial funds for such a wonderful charity”
Tom Rosenthal says: The chance to act alongside Simon Bird is an opportunity I cannot turn down, seemingly. Beauty and the Beast the Comic Relief Pantomime will be the best thing to happen to Zoom since the Handforth Parish Council.
Richard Curtis, Executive Producer for Studio Crook and Comic Relief co-founder, says: “I don’t know that we’ve ever done anything for Comic Relief which was more full of a sense of fame and fun - last year the show made nearly a million pounds, and I’m really hoping that Beauty and the Beast will also raise a beautiful amount of cash for all our brilliant projects at a pretty beastly time.”
Katie Taylor, BBC Commissioning Editor says: “Christmas is the time of coming together and what better way than to have a giggle, laughing along with some of the finest faces of stage and screen doing their best Panto impressions whilst raising money for those in need”
Beauty And The Beast: A Comic Relief Pantomime for Christmas will air on Sunday 19th December at 9pm on BBC Two.
Beauty And The Beast: A Comic Relief Pantomime for Christmas is a Studio Crook production for BBC Two and was commissioned by Kate Phillips, Director of Entertainment Commissioning. The Executive Producers for Studio Crook are Matt Crook, Richard Curtis and Colin Hopkins. The Commissioning Editor for the BBC is Katie Taylor.
