BBC and Magic Light Pictures are bringing another festive animated treat to BBC iPlayer and BBC One this Christmas, with ‘The Baddies’, based on the picture book by Dame Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler.
The half-hour special is the latest animated adaptation from multi-Oscar-nominated production company Magic Light Pictures, who have become something of a Christmas TV tradition with their Donaldson and Scheffler specials. Previous adaptations include ‘The Gruffalo’, ‘Zog’ and ‘The Scarecrows’ Wedding’, with the latter delighting 8.7 million viewers across the festive period last year.
‘The Baddies’ features an all-star voice cast, with Rob Brydon (Gavin & Stacey, The Trip) voicing Ghost, Alison Steadman (Gavin & Stacey, Life Is Sweet) as Witch, Hammed Animashaun (Black Ops, The Wheel of Time) as Troll, Robyn Cara (Bodkin, The Rising) as Girl, Francesca Mills (The Witcher: Blood Origin, Harlots) as Mouse, and Sheridan Smith (Cilla, No Return) as the Narrator.
The story follows the worst Baddies in the world, a troll, a ghost and a witch, who love nothing more than being bad and boasting about it. 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 trio to see who can steal the hanky. However, the supposedly terrible trio soon learn they may have met their match in the little girl.
Packed with mischief, humour and heart, the festive special is described as a celebration of courage, kindness, and the power of standing up to bullies.
Author Dame Julia Donaldson says: “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.”
Sheridan Smith says: “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.”
Producer Barney Goodland adds: “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.”
Lindsay Salt, Director of BBC Drama, says: “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.”
‘The Baddies’ is directed by Andy Martin and Sarah-Jane Knox, and produced by Barney Goodland and Martin Pope of Magic Light Pictures. The film is overseen for the BBC by Nawfal Faizullah, BBC Drama Commissioning Editor, with animation services provided by Triggerfish Animation.
‘The Baddies’ premieres Christmas 2026 on BBC iPlayer and BBC One.
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