{"id":42452,"date":"2023-12-25T07:00:18","date_gmt":"2023-12-25T06:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1933217"},"modified":"2023-12-25T08:21:23","modified_gmt":"2023-12-25T07:21:23","slug":"tabby-mctat-author-hopes-politicians-take-message-of-kindness-from-film","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/tabby-mctat-author-hopes-politicians-take-message-of-kindness-from-film\/","title":{"rendered":"Tabby McTat author hopes politicians take message of kindness from film"},"content":{"rendered":"

Julia Donaldson’s festive animation follows a busking cat and his owner in London. <\/p>

By Helen Daly\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Monday, 25 December 2023 at 06:00 AM<\/p>

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Magic Light Pictures has adapted Julia Donaldson\u2019s Tabby McTat for a special festive film airing this Christmas on BBC One.<\/p>\n

The tale tells the story of a busking cat (voiced by S\u0323o\u0323pe\u0323\u0301 Di\u0300ri\u0301su\u0300<\/span>) and his owner Fred (Rob Brydon), who perform in London for their many fans.<\/p>\n

But when Fred suffers from an accident, he loses Tabby and the little feline is left to fend for himself before he finds a new family to live with.<\/p>\n

On the face of it there\u2019s a sweet children\u2019s story about family and love, but below the surface there\u2019s a story of homelessness that is a pertinent political issue today.<\/p>\n

\"Julia\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Julia Donaldson.<\/span><\/figcaption> Oli Scarff\/Getty Images<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

RadioTimes.com<\/a> attended a press Q&A with author Donaldson, her long-time collaborator and illustrator Axel Scheffler, and voice of Sock, Susan Wokoma.<\/p>\n

When asked if she hopes certain politicians would take kindness from the film, Donaldson explained: \u201cThat would be nice.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I\u2019m writing a story I don\u2019t really go into the background. It\u2019s different with a novel, you\u2019d go into the backstory of the characters. In the film, I thought it was good that Fred would sleep rough and then they thought about him getting re-housed. It\u2019s all very good and very convincing, but it didn\u2019t cross my mind; they were just buskers.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut that\u2019s a lovely thought that this film could help some politicians become more humane.\u201d<\/p>

Last month, then-Home Secretary Suella Braverman notably said that \u201cliving on the streets [is a] lifestyle choice\u201d<\/a> for many homeless people.<\/p>\n

Wokoma added: \u201cThis was [made] quite a few months ago and where this world was originally set in the book wasn\u2019t London. It\u2019s really coincidental that these things happened before a certain politician said what they said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a really beautiful coincidence that we have the busker, and their housing situation in London. So the fact they\u2019ve come together in a really organic way. I think the kind of crux of this story is compassion for everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tabby McTat will air at 2:35pm on BBC One on Christmas Day. <\/strong>Check out more of our\u00a0Drama<\/a>\u00a0coverage or visit our\u00a0TV Guide<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Streaming Guide<\/a>\u00a0to find out what\u2019s on.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Try Radio Times magazine today and get 10 issues for only \u00a310 \u2013 subscribe now<\/a>. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast<\/a>.<\/b><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div> <\/body><\/html>\n
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