Festive hit Author reveals busking in Bristol inspired tale
ACCLAIMED children’s author Julia Donaldson has revealed busking on the streets of Bristol was a source of inspiration for the latest Christmas TV adaptation of her work.
Donaldson has become one of the most successful writers of a generation with titles such as The Gruffalo, Zog and Room On The Broom grossing millions of sales.
And, over the past decade, the BBC has made an adaptation of her work a focal part of its Christmas programming.
The broadcaster announced this week actress Jodie Whittaker will lend her voice to this year’s yuletide offering – Tabby McTat.
The former Doctor Who star, 40, will be narrating the adaptation which is based on the picture book written by Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler.
Whittaker is joined by Gavin And Stacey star and comedian Rob Brydon – who starred in Donaldson’s The Smeds And The Smoos – as Fred and Gangs Of London star Sope
Dirisu as Tabby McTat. The film will see busker Fred and musical cat Tabby enjoy their life singing to audiences in London streets before tragedy strikes.
In the story Fred breaks his leg while chasing a thief and his cat is left alone.
Donaldson, who in 2023 is celebrating her 30th year in partnership with Scheffler, said: “I used to love busking with my husband Malcolm when we were living in Bristol, and also in Paris.
“We also both love cats – in fact, we’ve just acquired two new kittens named Tabitha and McTat. So this story is really close to my heart and combines two of my passions: singing and cats.”
Also among the cast is Peep Show’s Cariad Lloyd, The Thick Of It’s Joanna Scanlan and Enola Holmes’s Susan Wokoma.
Donaldson studied at Bristol University in the late 1960s where she met her husband Malcolm.
The couple later settled in the city, with Malcolm working as a paediatric doctor and Julia as a secretary at Radio Bristol before her writing took off.