Cast announced for David Walliams's Boy In The Dress
Filming has commenced today on David Walliams's festive comedy, The Boy In The Dress.
BBC One has revealed a star-studded cast will appear alongside David Walliams.
Jennifer Saunders (Absolutely Fabulous), Tim McInnerny (Blackadder), Meera Syal (Goodness Gracious Me), Steve Speirs (Big School), James Buckley (The Inbetweeners) and Felicity Montagu (I'm Alan Partridge) all have leading roles in the comedy drama.
The title role of Dennis will be played by acting newcomer Billy Kennedy, and supermodel Kate Moss will make a cameo appearance.
The Boy In The Dress is the latest TV dramatisation one of Walliams's hit children's books. The programme follows the success of two previous adaptations. Mr Stink was adapted in 2012 with Hugh Bonneville in the lead role, and Gangsta Granny was adapted in 2013, starring Julia McKenzie. Both proved popular with critics and the audience and reached over 7 million viewers.
The one-hour special, which is being filmed in London, will air this Christmas.
The Boy In The Dress, which was first published in 2008, tells the story of a 12-year-old boy named Dennis. He is an ordinary boy who lives in an ordinary town - but he feels different. A chance view of a fashion magazine introduces him to a whole new world of colour and creativity, but can a boy wear a dress? What will the Headmaster, his Dad, and his friends in the football team think if they find out?
David Walliams says: "We have put together a dream cast for this the first of my children's books, and for many still my best. It is a funny and poignant story about what it is to be different. I hope it will make everyone who sees it, young and old, stop and think."
The BBC's Mark Freeland adds: "It's a real privilege to bring to screen another one of David Walliams's magical books. Christmas wouldn't be Christmas on BBC One without a man in a tatty coat, a granny on a souped up mobility scooter and now a boy in a dress."
The Boy In The Dress has been adapted for TV by David Walliams alongside Kevin Cecil and Andy Riley. Matt Lipsey, the Director of Gangsta Granny, returns to oversee this programme too.
It was also revealed today that David Walliams notched up his fourth consecutive week atop the Official UK Top 50 book sales chart, as his new publication Awful Auntie continues to sell well. It has now sold over 181,000 copies.