Sally Hawkins, Adjoa Andoh, Bill Bailey, Meera Syal, Rob Brydon, Ashna Rabberu and Daniel Ezra are all lending their voices to the BBC’s latest adaptation of a Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler story.

The animated adventure will air on BBC One during Christmas 2022.

On a far-off planet, two families always avoid each other. The red Smeds never mix with the Smoos, who are blue, so when a chance encounter allows young Smed Janet to become friends with Bill, a young Smoo, their families immediately try to stop it.

But Janet and Bill sneak out to meet up secretly and as they grow up they fall in love. When their families find out they are horrified So the desperate Janet and Bill sneak away to escape in the Smed’s red rocket to explore the universe together. Realising they’ve lost their children, Grandmother Smoo and Grandpa Smed are compelled to work together to try to find the young couple. Can the two clans discover how to get along?

The film will be the 10th TV adaptation by Magic Light Pictures of a Donaldson/Scheffler title for BBC One and BBC iPlayer, and also marks Brydon’s 10th involvement with the stories.