Sian Gibson and David Walliams to star in Cinderella Christmas special

The 60-minute family special for Sky1 finds Cinderella beginning to question if rushing into marriage was a good idea.

“When you read a story to a child and it ends ‘they lived happily ever after’ the child often asks what happened next," said Walliams, who co-wrote the script with the Dawson Brothers (Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway, Big School). "We will reveal what happened [to] Cinderella, Prince Charming and the Wicked Stepmother.”

In the festive film, Cinderella will fight to save The King, played by stage and screen legend Sir Tom Courtenay (Unforgotten, Billy Liar), from her evil Stepmother, Madame Blackheart (Olivier Award-winner Celia Imrie).

Jon Mountague, head of Sky Comedy, said: “It’s a fairy-tale script and a fairy-tale cast. Christmas with a twist from the incomparable David Walliams.”

This is Walliams’ third adaptation for Sky1. His two previous projects, The Queen and I and the International Emmy Award-winning Ratburger, were both hits for the network, achieving a combined audience of over 4 million viewers.