Overview
- The 30-minute Magic Light Pictures film airs at 3:10pm on BBC One and is available on BBC iPlayer.
- Jessie Buckley voices Betty O'Barley, Domhnall Gleeson is Harry O'Hay, Rob Brydon plays Reginald Rake, with Sophie Okonedo as narrator.
- The adaptation is directed by Samantha Cutler and Jeroen Jaspaert, written by Steven Bloomer, and produced by Barney Goodland and Michael Rose, with animation by Red Star and support from Triggerfish.
- Based on Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler's picture book, the story follows two scarecrows planning a wedding thrown off course by a suave newcomer.
- Julia Donaldson initially resisted changing the smoking scene but rewrote and approved the marshmallow version, with the special joining a long-running BBC Christmas tradition that has drawn multi-million audiences.