Guz Khan to play Buttons in BBC Two’s Cinderella: A Comic Relief Pantomime for Christmas with an all star cast.
The stars will perform from the safety of their homes for the Comic Relief special, which airs on Christmas Eve and will be brought to life with illustrations from iconic children’s illustrator Quentin Blake.
Olivia Colman plays the fairy godmother in a virtual staging of the classic panto with Richard Curtis executive producing. Curtis said: “It’ll be very funny and merry — and also a great seasonal opportunity to raise crucial funds for the projects that will help the most vulnerable people, at home and abroad — especially now when Covid has made things harder than ever for many.”
Helena Bonham-Carter plays the wicked stepmother Lady Devilia. Meanwhile, with Anya Taylor-Joy, the breakout star of Netflix series The Queen’s Gambit will play Cinderella.
Other cast includes Tom Hollander as Baron Hardup and Daisy May and Charlie Cooper, the stars and creators of This Country (which is currently being remade by Fox), have been cast as the evil step-sisters. The pair are siblings in real-life. The BBC has promised other starry cameos, including an “incredibly famous person wearing an incredibly unconvincing horse costume.”
Written by the Dawson Brothers, and based on an original script by Ben Crocker, Cinderella: A Comic Relief Pantomime for Christmas will be a retelling of the timeless panto classic. It is made by Crook Productions.
The executive producers for Crook Productions are Matt Crook, Richard Curtis, and Colin Hopkins. The director is Matt Lipsey. It was commissioned by Patrick Holland, Jo Wallace and Katie Taylor.