Olivia Colman to make panto debut in charity version of Cinderella alongside Helena Bonham Carter

Olivia Colman is reuniting with her The Crown co-star Helena Bonham Carter for her debut pantomime performance in Comic Relief’s Cinderella.

The charity production will take place virtually in a one-hour retelling set for broadcast on BBC Two on Christmas Eve.

Colman is taking on the role of the fairy godmother while Bonham Carter, who played her on screen sister Princess Margaret in the Netflix series, features as Lady Devilia.

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It comes after the fourth series of The Crown was released last month in the final season featuring the actors before their roles as the monarch and her younger sister pass on to Imelda Staunton and Lesley Manville, respectively.

The Queen's Gambit actor Anya Taylor-Joy will star as the titular character in Cinderella: A Comic Relief Pantomime for Christmas, while other cast members include Tom Wallander, who has been cast as Baron Hardup and Guz Khan who will play Buttons.

This Country's Daisy May and Charlie Cooper are onboard as The Evil Step Sisters while Rege-Jean Page will play Prince Charming and Jimmy Akingbola will be Dandini.

Quentin Blake, the famed illustrator of Roald Dahl's books, has created hand-drawn illustration to bring the project to life.

The show has been written by the Dawson Brothers, based on an original script by Ben Crocker, and viewers will have the opportunity to donate to Comic Relief projects as they watch.

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Richard Curtis, the executive producer and founder of Comic Relief, said: “We’re hugely grateful to BBC Two and the amazing cast for allowing us to do our first ever pantomime.

“It’ll be very funny and merry – and also a great seasonal opportunity to raise crucial funds for the projects that will help the most vulnerable people, at home and abroad – especially now when Covid has made things harder than ever for many.”

Meanwhile, Patrick Holland, controller of BBC Two, said: “This is a unique surprise at the end of a year when we all need cheering up. Thank you so much to Richard Curtis and the team at Comic Relief for assembling such a stellar cast to deliver us a pantomime to remember.”

Cinderella: A Comic Relief Pantomime for Christmas will be broadcast on BBC Two on Christmas Eve at 8.15pm and will also be available on BBC iPlayer.

With additional reporting by PA.

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