Ted Lasso star Hannah Waddingham will lend her voice to Teddler, a BBC animated special set to air this Christmas.
Alongside the BBC, the animation is produced by Academy Award-nominated Magic Light Pictures, based on the popular children's picture book of the same name by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler. According to the official synopsis for the film, “Tiddler” tells the story of “a little grey fish with a big imagination who gets lost in the deep, wide ocean, until she is saved by her own story.”
Waddingham is set to narrate the half-hour special, which will feature Lolly Adefope (“Ghosts,” “Saltburn”) as Miss Skate, Jade Adams (“Ruby Speaking,” “Alma’s Not Normal”) as Plaice and other characters, and Rob Brydon (“Gavin and Stacey,” “The Trip”) taking on the roles of the fisherman, whale, starfish and anchovy. Child actors Robin Kirby and Theo Fraser also appear as Tiddler and Johnny Dory, respectively.
“Every day, Tiddler tells a different story to his teacher and friend Johnny Dory about why he’s late for school,” the synopsis continues. “His stories range from riding a seahorse or swimming around a shipwreck to being captured by a squid. His stories are so great that word of mouth helps them travel across the ocean, so when Tiddler gets lost, he realizes they might just help him find his way home. The film is an underwater adventure about the power of imagination and finding confidence in yourself—and how to feel content as a small fish in a big ocean.”
In a statement, Waddingham said her role as narrator was “a real joy to record,” adding that Tiddler is “the story of the storyteller in all of us, and helps children understand what it’s like to be a little fish in a very big pond (and we’ve all felt that way in life!) I’ve loved reading Julia and Axel books to my daughter over the years and it’s so special to be able to bring one of them to the screen in this beautiful animation.”
Tiddler is the twelfth book by Donaldson and Scheffler to be adapted into an animated feature film produced by Magic Light Pictures for the BBC. The film is directed by Andy Martin and Alex Payne from a screenplay by Michael Bonenstingel, with Barney Goodland and Martin Pope producing for Magic Light. Tiddler has been acquired by Charlotte Moore, BBC Chief Content Officer, and Nofal Faizullah, BBC Drama Commissioning Editor.
Tiddler will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer this Christmas.
