December, 2012
TX Monday 24 December 2013 at 11.30am
& Monday 31 December 2013 at 11.30am
BBC R4
Wisha, wisha, wisha.
Playfulness, soundscape and oddity above the rustling leaves of Blyton’s Magic Faraway Tree.
In the centre of the Enchanted Wood is the Faraway Tree. Home to Moonface, Silky and Saucepan Man; its upper branches stretch into cloud-hosted dimensions of strange and magical lands.
In this two-part abridged adaptation of Enid Blyton’s classic children’s tale, BBC Radio 4 swoops voices from the world of entertainment into the mystical lands above.
Featuring Johnny Vegas, as Moonface, Nigel Planer as Saucepan and Lucy Beaumont (Winner of the BBC’s New Comedy Awards 2012) as Silky.
Narrator: Ronni Ancona
Rick: Billy Kennedy
Joe: Alex Clarke
Frannie: Nell Tiger Free
Beth: Tess Fontaine
Moonface: Johnny Vegas
Silky: Lucy Beaumont
Saucepan: Nigel Planer
Mother: Joanna Hall
Angry Pixie: Wayne Forrester
Written by Enid Blyton
Adapted for Radio by Andrew Lynch
Music composed and arranged by Phase Music
Directed by Johnny Vegas
Produced by Sally Harrison
A Woolyback Production for BBC Radio 4
A stellar cast of Hugh Bonneville, David Walliams, Sheridan Smith, Johnny Vegas and Pudsey the dog, star in this magical, heart-warming and funny tale, adapted from David Walliams’ best-selling children’s book.
Adapted by Walliams himself with Simon Nye, this 60-minute family comedy tells the story of lonely 12-year-old Chloe (Nell Tiger Free), who invites local tramp Mr Stink (Hugh Bonneville) and his dog Duchess (Pudsey) to hide out in her family’s garden shed.
Chloe also has to cope with an over-bearing mum (Sheridan Smith) who is more interested in her own political ambitions and her infatuation with the Prime Minister (David Walliams), than her daughter. ‘Perfect’ younger sister Annabelle (Isabella Blake-Thomas) and nasty girls at school also make Chloe’s life miserable. Chloe’s only allies are her put-upon dad (Johnny Vegas) who is harbouring a secret of his own, and newsagent Raj (Harish Patel).
But Chloe soon discovers she is not the only one harbouring a secret and there is certainly more to Mr Stink than meets the eye… or nose.
In addition to being broadcast in standard definition, Mr Stink will also be shown in 3D on the BBC HD channel; the first time the BBC has filmed a narrative programme in 3D.
Family comedy Mr Stink is being produced by BBC In-house Comedy Productions in association with David Walliams and his production company DEW Productions. It will be directed by Declan Lowney (Little Britain, Alan Partridge, Father Ted). It was adapted for television by David Walliams with Simon Nye (Men Behaving Badly, Just William, Dr Who). The Executive Producer is Mark Freeland, Head of BBC In-house Comedy and the Producer is Jo Sargent (Miranda, Absolutely Fabulous). It was commissioned for BBC One by Danny Cohen, Controller BBC One and Cheryl Taylor, out-going Controller, Comedy Commissioning.
BBC1 – Sunday 23rd December @ 6.30pm
Repeated on Wednesday 26 December @ 4.20pm
http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/mediapacks/mrstink/
Posted in: TV Show on December 14th, 2012
The Cow That Almost Missed Christmas is a one-off animation giving a unique interpretation of the nativity story seen through the eyes of a cow called Marjorie. Marjorie is voiced by Isy Suttie, with Johnny Vegas providing the voice for a chicken called Brian.
Marjorie the cow lives in a run-down stable in the middle of Bethlehem. Nothing exciting ever happens in Bethlehem until now… there’s a census or something and there’s going to be some sort of street party – that’s what Marje has heard, anyway!
She heads into town in search of this party. Joined by a spangly leotard-wearing chicken called Brian they stop passers by but no-one seems to know where the party’s happening: not the herd of sheep who have been frogmarched into town by their shepherds who told them a new king was about to be born; not the donkey who just wants a rest after lugging his boss’s pregnant wife into town only to discover that they haven’t booked a hotel; and certainly not the camels who are being chased by Pontius Pilate’s horse guard looking for three star-gazing, wise astronomer blokes the camels have carried all the way from the eastern deserts.
Marje and Brian are fed up, lost and disappointed not to have found the party. But then Brian catches sight of the bright star the camels mentioned they were following. As they head onto the main street and into a very familiar square, they find the entire town quietly engrossed in a beautiful scene: the donkey, his carpenter boss and his wife, the three camels with their wise kings and a tiny new born baby with a little halo, quietly huddled into Marje and Brian’s family stable.
And the day ends with a cow and a chicken slightly stunned at the chosen venue – delighted they didn’t miss the party after all, but with the realization that the best place to be at Christmas is home.
The Cow That Almost Missed Christmas is a Baby Cow Animation/Komedia Entertainment production for CBeebies. Voice talent include Isy Suttie, Johnny Vegas, Miriam Margolyes, Nitin Ganatra, Simon Greenall and Daniel Laurence Taylor.
BBC1, Wednesday 19 December @ 4.30pm
