FOR HE’S A JOLLY GOOD
They’re not all evil, as David Walliams proves in his alternative take on Jack & The Beanstalk
When he broke t h e mould la st yea r with his ingen ious retelling of Cinderella, imagining what happened to our heroine after she marr ied Pr ince Charming, David Walliams promised more fairytale sequels. Now the author, actor and BGT judge is back with a fresh take on Jack & The Beanstalk.
‘At the end, the Giant falls off the beanstalk and you assume he’s dead,’ says David, who plays the Giant. ‘Here he’s just stunned and comes back to life, but he’s lost his memory and thinks Jack might be his friend.
‘Jack realises the Giant isn’t horrible just because he’s a giant. He’s nice, and a friendship grows. But the villagers are hostile.’
The villagers include Dodgy Dave (Blake Harrison), who sold the magic beans. Now Jack (newcomer Eddie Karanja) must be quick-wit ted to get t he Giant home. But he has to contend with The Woman With No Name, the e self-proclaimed greatest giant- killer in the village. ‘She’s got a glass eye t hat she ca n f i re at t giants, using her eyepatch as a catapult,’ says David. ‘It’s like the e weapon Oddjob uses in the Bond d film Goldfinger. He throws his s bowler hat at people to kill them.’
Sitting with David today on set t at the Chiltern Open Air Museum m in Buckinghamshire, where the e show is being filmed, is his good d friend Sheridan Smith who plays s the giant slayer, resplendent with h yellow teet h a nd a black eye. . Sheridan, best known for UTV’s s Cilla, is no stranger to David’s s Christmas shows, having worked d on Ratburger and Mr Stink.
‘Whenever David calls with a role I always do it in a heartbeat,’ ’ she says. ‘They’re always the fun n parts, I never usually get to play those. In David’s shows I get to be daft and wear ridicuculous outfits.’
There is another bonus for Sheridan, 39, who gave birth th to son Billy this year. ‘I’m a mum now, and Billy can n watch these shows one day y which is lovely,’ she says.
‘He’s already watched d Cilla 37 times, and he’s s only f ive months old,’ David adds, quick as a flash.
He and Sheridan have an easygoing relationship. In fact David, 49, says that despite a typically wet autumn the team have all been having a great time. ‘It’s l i ke Glastonbury when it gets muddy,’ he laughs. ‘It’s been so enjoyable. I think everyone’s had a positive energy because they’re doing s o met h i ng f u n , a n d t h ey’r e working with others again. Most
Dodgy Dave and his wares. Right: Young Jack actors I k now have ba rely worked for months and so we p r o b a b l y c o u l d’ve a s k e d Robert De Niro! But ever yt h i ng here is ver y escapist and hopefully very funny.’
He hopes t he hu mour wil l appeal to young and old alike. ‘It’s s se e t i n a medieva l village vil and there’s a talent tal competition, Tit Ti c h i n g t o n’s Got Turnips. Tur So we have an i n - j o k e wh e r e someone som says, “Being a judge ju i n a t a le nt c com o mpet i t i o n is t he highest high honour in the la nd.” nd Tur n ips were mentioned men in Cinderell a, a nd I’l l mention them in the next one, Hansel & Gretel, too. I want to do a box set ca l le d The Tur nip Trilogy, a bit like The Godfather Trilogy.’ To make David look huge, a model of him was made that lumbers about Titchington. ‘That was freaky actually,’ he laughs. But for the close-up shots they simply magnified the real David, much to Sheridan’s pleasure. ‘So many people do the CGI thing these days, but David plays the actual giant in this so we’re all acting to that. It’s quite old school,’ she says.
Sheridan will play The Witch in next year’s Hansel & Gretel, so why is she always cast as the villain? ‘I know her well!’ deadpans David. ‘The baddie is the best part. There’s no story without a good baddie.’
Like his books, the show has a heartwarming message. ‘It’s taken as read that giants are bad just because they’ re giants ,’ says David .‘ My story is about acceptance — just because people are different it doesn’t mean they can’t get along.’
James Rampton Jack & The Beanstalk: After Ever After, Wednesday 23,8 pm, Sky One.