The Aporia · The Baddies: First-look image revealed of BBC Christmas special

The Baddies: First-look image revealed of BBC Christmas special

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O'Grady, S. (2026, October 8). The Baddies: First-look image revealed of BBC Christmas special. Evening Standard. https://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/celebrity-news/sheridan-smith-bbc-julia-donaldson-rob-brydon-alison-steadman-b1300075.html

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Quick Summary

The BBC has released a first-look image for its upcoming Christmas special "The Baddies," a fairytale comedy featuring a troll, a witch, and a ghost who challenge themselves to steal a girl’s blue spotty hanky. David Smith will voice the narrator, describing the show as fun, funny, and heartwarming. The story flips traditional fairytales by having villains outsmarted by a brave little girl and a mouse. Previous adaptations of Dame Julia's books have been successful, with "The Scarecrows’ Wedding" attracting 8.7 million viewers last year.

Written by AI on 2026-10-08, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

The BBC has released a first-look image for its upcoming Christmas special, "The Baddies," based on Dame Julia Donaldson's book. In this fairytale comedy, a troll, witch, and ghost claim to be the worst villains around but face unexpected challenges when they attempt to steal a girl’s blue spotty hanky. The story flips traditional fairytales by showcasing how kindness can triumph over bullying. Previous adaptations of Dame Julia’s books by Magic Light Pictures, such as The Gruffalo and Zog, have been popular, with last year's special "The Scarecrows' Wedding" watched by 8.7 million viewers across the festive period in the UK.

Written for “BBC Christmas Special Revealed” on 2026-11-05, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

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sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

20%

1 of 5 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

Leaning

not political

takes no side on a contested political question

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64/100

Evening Standard's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

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Who wrote this

Sean O'Grady

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Also by Sean O'Grady

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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

All 98 articles by Sean O'Grady →

Claims (5 extracted, 1 hedged)

In the fairytale comedy, a troll, a witch and a ghost proclaim themselves the baddest of them all, delighting in tormenting everyone they meet. asserted

they → proclaim → everyone

But when they are challenged to steal a girl’s blue spotty hanky, they discover they may have met their match. uncertain

they → challenge → match

Smith, who will voice the narrator, said: “Being bad has never been so much fun! “The Baddies is deliciously spooky, ridiculously funny, and packed with heart. asserted

Baddies → voice → heart

“It’s a riot of a fairytale that celebrates courage, kindness, and outsmarting the big bullies – families are going to love the hilarity and chaos this Christmas.” Steadman, voicing the witch, said: “What I loved about the story is how it flips traditional fairytales on their head. “You have these three boastful villains plotting wicked tricks, only to be completely outsmarted by a brave little girl and a mouse. “It’s such a satisfying, funny tale about kindness quietly beating big bullies.” It comes after a number of Dame Julia’s books have already been adapted by Magic Light Pictures for BBC Christmas specials including The Gruffalo, Zog and The Scarecrows’ Wedding, with the previous adaptations available on iPlayer. Last year’s adaptation, The Scarecrows’ Wedding, was watched by 8.7 million viewers across the festive period, becoming Christmas week’s most-watched programme in the UK. asserted

adaptation → ’ → UK

The Baddies is directed by Andy Martin and Sarah-Jane Knox, and produced by Barney Goodland and Martin Pope of Magic Light Pictures. asserted

Baddies → direct → Pictures

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The Baddies: First-look image revealed of BBC Christmas special

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Claims (5 extracted, 1 hedged)