PAWSOME adventure
JODIE WHITTAKER and author JULIA DONALDSON on how a musical cat is about to take centre stage
TABBY MCTAT CHRISTMAS DAY, 2.35PM, BBC1 ANIMATION
It really is the miaow-st wonderful time of the year as the BBC continues its Christmas tradition of animating a beloved children’s book by author
Julia Donaldson with the fur-bulent tale of Tabby Mctat.
Produced by Magic Light
Pictures, the half-hour story is narrated by former Doctor Who star Jodie Whittaker, and follows the adventures of singing cat
Tabby (voiced by Gangs of London’s Sọpẹ́ Dìrísú), who entertains passing crowds on London’s streets with his busker friend, Fred (Gavin & Stacey’s Rob Brydon).
But when the duo are unexpectedly torn apart, a gorgeously glossy cat named Sock (Enola Holmes’ Susan Wokoma) invites Tabby into her home, where he makes a new life for himself with owners Prunella (Changing Ends’ Cariad Lloyd) and Pat (Boat Story’s Joanna Scanlan). Will he ever find Fred again? ‘I watch these adaptations every Christmas, so I’m pinching myself that I get to narrate one,’ says Jodie, 41, who has two young children. ‘There are some big themes, as it deals with transitions from childhood to adulthood, loss and loneliness. But there’s so much warmth in it. ‘I’ve been reading this story at bedtime for a while, too. So I’ve had quite a lot of practice!’ Tabby Mctat is the 11th adaptation of a book by Julia and her long-time collaborator, illustrator Axel Scheffler. But this story is particularly close to the author’s heart. ‘As well as having two cats, called Tabitha and Mctat, my husband, Malcolm, and I have a long history of busking,’ explains Julia, 75, who also penned family favourites The Gruffalo, Stick Man and The Smeds and the Smoos.
‘Back when I was a student in Paris, we took the Champs-élysées by storm!’