The BBC Two festive production starring Lily James and Oliver Chris as the title characters is set to premiere on December 19. More below:
“Oh no it isn’t”, “Oh, yes, it is.” The world’s funniest and most 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, all to raise money for some very good causes.
Returning 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 (The Pursuit of Love, Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again!, Downton Abbey) 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 (Keeping Faith, Better Things) as Malabelle, Simon Bird (Friday Night Dinner, The Inbetweeners) as Remy, Pam Ferris (Call The Midwife, Holmes & Watson) as Marie and Tom Rosenthal (Friday Night Dinner, Plebs) 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 camera 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.
Beauty And The Beast – A Pantomime for Comic Relief will air on Sunday 19th December at 9pm on BBC Two.