With Lily James and a host of comedy names

The cast of this year's BBC Comic Relief pantomime have been revealed with Lily James, pictured, as Beauty with Motherland’s Oliver Chris as The Beast.

Like last year’s Zoom-based Cinderella production, the story will be narrated by Guz Khan, this time in the guise of Bonzo

The cast also includes Kiell Smith-Bynoe as Beauty’s brother Jacques; Sian Gibson as their mother; Susan Wokoma  as Amelie; Celia Imrie as Malabelle and Pam Ferris as Marie. And the Friday Night Dinner duo of Simon Bird and Tom Rosenthal

are reunited as Remy and Mr Bell.

Rosenthal said: ‘The chance to act alongside Simon Bird is an opportunity I cannot turn down, seemingly. Beauty and the Beast, the Comic Relief pantomime, will be the best thing to happen to Zoom since the Handforth Parish Council.’

Gibson added: 'I thought my panto career was behind me, but oh no its not!

‘I’m so thrilled to be taking part in Beauty And The Beast. Just thrilled I’ve not been asked to play the beast actually. It's going to be lots of Christmassy fun and a great chance to raise crucial funds for such a wonderful charity.’

Guest stars include Miranda Hart, Lenny Henry, David Tennant, David Walliams and Michael Sheen, while iIllustrations will again be provided by Quentin Blake.

The pantomime has been written by Ben Crocker, the Dawson Bros and Richard Curtis, who said: ‘I don’t know that we’ve ever done anything for Comic Relief which was more full of a sense of fame and fun - last year the show made nearly a million pounds, and I’m really hoping that Beauty and the Beast will also raise a beautiful amount of cash for all our brilliant projects at a pretty beastly time’

• Beauty And The Beast: A Pantomime For Comic Relief will air on Sunday December 19 at 9pm on BBC Two.

Made by: Studio Crook
Written by: Ben Crocker, the Dawson Bros and Richard Curtis
Executive producers: Matt Crook, Richard Curtis and Colin Hopkins
Commissioned by: Kate Phillips, director of entertainment commissioning
Commissioning editor: Katie Taylor.

Published: 9 Dec 2021