New specials based on Jack & The Beanstalk and Hansel & Gretel

David Walliams is to star in new versions of two more fairy tales for Sky One.

The broadcaster has commissioned new family comedy retellings of Jack & The Beanstalk and Hansel & Gretel following the success of last year’s Cinderella: After Ever After.

Production is to start on Jack & The Beanstalk: After Ever After next month, ready to air this Christmas

Walliams scripted the show with comedy writers The Dawson Brothers and will play The Giant.

Sheridan Smith stars as The Woman with No Name, the self-proclaimed greatest giant-killer in the village and Inbetweeners star Blake Harrison plays Dodgy Dave, the shifty market trader who sold Jack the magic beans

The cast also includes Jocelyn Jee Esien as Pat, Ashley McGuire as Mayoress and Daniel Rigby as the Baker.

The 60-minute special begins where the original fable ends, with the Giant not dead, only is concussed, but with no way back to his house in the sky.

Walliams said: ‘I often wondered what happened to Jack after ever after, so I decided to write a sequel because I can’t stop writing books.

‘This is a star-studded festive treat - a comedy sequel to one of the best loved English fairy tales. I am delighted to be playing the Giant, alongside some of the biggest names in British TV.’

Smith added: ‘This is a brilliantly funny piece and I’m so excited to be working with David again. My part, The Woman With No Name, is a really fun part and like every baddie, she gets her comeuppance in the end.

‘After the year we’ve had it’s the perfect story for Christmas that the whole family can enjoy together.’

This will be followed by Hansel & Gretel: After Ever After, with Walliams writing the script with Kevin Cecil.

Both shows are made by Walliams’s production company  King Bert. Walliams previously made The Queen And I and Ratburger for Sky, too.

Jon Mountague, Director of Comedy at Sky Studios, said: ‘Christmas is a time for love and cheer. And beanstalks. Once again David Walliams has bought a fairytale cast to deliver a genuinely unique twist on an absolute classic. Fe Fi Fo Fum – I smell a wonderful treat for all the family this Christmas on Sky One.’

Made by: King Bert Productions 
Commissioned by: Zai Bennett, Sky UK’s managing director of Content and Jon Mountague, director of comedy at Sky studios
Executive producers: Tilusha Ghelani for Sky and  Jo Sargent for King Bert
Directed by: David Sant (Jack And The Beanstalk), Dan Zeff (Hansel & Gretel) 
Produced by: Adam Browne

Published: 28 Sep 2020