NEW PROJECT: David Tennant Will Voice The Highway Rat For BBC One This Christmas

David Tennant will be providing the voice of The Highway Rat in a BBC adaptation of the eponymous children's book by Julia Donaldson. David's take on the ravenous rodent will be seen in a half hour animated special to be screened on BBC One over the Christmas period.

"Give me your buns and your biscuits! Give me your chocolate eclairs!

For I am the Rat of the highway, and the Rat Thief never shares!" 

The 2011 book, written by Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler, the beloved team behind The Gruffalo, Stick Man and Room On The Broom, is inspired by the famous Alfred Noyes poem.The Highwayman The story follows a swashbuckling rat who robs other woodland creatures at swordpoint for their food: clover from a rabbit, nuts from a squirrel, even his own horse's hay. But what he really craves are cakes, sweets and biscuits, and it is his sweet tooth that leads to his sticky end when, ironically for a character voiced by David, a crafty duck sets a trap for him.

Other voice cast includes Rob Brydon, Nina Sosanya, Tom Hollander and Frances de le Tour.

The Highway Rat is a co-production between BBC One and Magic Light Pictures, the collaboration that brought Stick Man to life for Christmas 2015.

Michael Rose, Co-Founder, Magic Light Pictures, says: “We’re delighted to be in production with our next Donaldson/Scheffler title for BBC One. Julia and Axel have given us another brilliant story to work from – a swashbuckling tale of bandits and biscuits for all the family to enjoy.”

Elizabeth Kilgarriff, BBC Commissioning Editor, says: "I am thrilled to be continuing our relationship with Magic Light to make this special animation for BBC One. There isn't a better team to bring the Highway Rat to television screens. It will be a Christmas treat for all the family."