The BBC and Magic Light Pictures have announced The Baddies as the next Christmas special in the series of Dame Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler animated adaptations.

The half hour special will feature a  voice cast that includes returning favourite Rob Brydon voicing Ghost, Alison Steadman as Witch, Hammed Animashaun as Troll, Robyn Cara as Girl, Francesca Mills as Mouse alongside Sheridan Smith as the Narrator.

The Baddies is about the worst Baddies in the world – a troll and 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 Baddies to see who can steal the hanky. Soon they learn that they may have met their match in the little girl. Packed with mischief, humour and heart, this fun adventure is 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 adapted from the picture book written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler. The film is the latest animated special of their work to be produced by Magic Light Pictures for the BBC. Previous adaptations include The Gruffalo, Zog and last year’s The Scarecrows’ Wedding which hit 8.7 million viewers across the festive period (28-day BARB) and became Christmas week’s most watched programme in the UK. The Scarecrows’ Wedding also achieved Magic Light’s highest-ever audience share at 48.2%.

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. Animation services provided by Triggerfish Animation.