New animation The Baddies coming to BBC One this Christmas

It follows the success of recent adaptations, The Gruffalo, Zog and The Scarecrows’ Wedding.

BBC One has announced The Baddies, a new adaptation of Julia Donaldson's picture book, illustrated by Axel Scheffler, and is the latest adaptation following the success of It follows the success of recent adaptations, The Gruffalo, Zog and The Scarecrows’ Wedding.

The Baddies will air this Christmas, and is a story about the worst Baddies in the world. A troll, a ghost and a witch, who love nothing more than being bad and boasting about it.

The Baddies will feature an all-star voice cast, with returning favourite Rob Brydon voicing Ghost, Alison Steadman as Witch, Hammed Animashaun as Troll, Robyn Cara as Girl, Francesca Mills as Mouse, alongside Sheridan Smith as the Narrator.

When a girl with a blue spotty hanky moves into a cottage nearby, the Baddies quarrel about all the nasty tricks they want to play on her. Then a mouse sets a challenge for the Baddies to see who can steal the hanky.

Soon, they learn that they may have met their match in the little girl. Packed with mischief, humour and heart, this fun adventure is a celebration of courage, kindness and the power of standing up to bullies.

Speaking ahead of the new adaptation, Sheridan Smith said "I’ve always loved Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s stories, so it was such a joy to be part of bringing The Baddies to life. The film is funny, spooky and full of heart, and the animation is absolutely beautiful. I think families are going to have enormous fun watching these wonderful characters causing chaos this Christmas."

To which Dame Julia Donaldson added "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."

Made by Magic Light Pictures, The Baddies is directed by Andy Martin and Sarah-Jane Knox, produced by Barney Goodland and Martin Pope, with animation services provided by Triggerfish Animation.

Speaking about The Baddies, the BBC's Director of Drama, Lindsay Salt said "It’s with a mix of excitement and trepidation that we welcome The Baddies to BBC iPlayer and BBC One this Christmas. I’d like to assure everyone at home that we’ll be working very closely with Julia, Axel and the team at Magic Light to keep viewers safe from Ghost, Witch and Troll’s dastardly deeds."

To which producer Barney Goodland added "The Baddies is a hilarious and brilliantly anarchic story. It's always a treat telling a story with a good villain and in The Baddies we have three! We're loving spending time with these characters and our brilliant cast and creative team are really enjoying the comedy. The film is going to be a lot of fun for families to enjoy together this Christmas."

The Baddies will air this Christmas on BBC One