Lily James Joins Cast Of BBC Beauty And The Beast Pantomime

Lily James is set to appear in the upcoming BBC Beauty And The Beast pantomime this Christmas; she will play the lead role of Belle alongside actor Oliver Chris, who will be playing the beast. This will be the 32-year-old actress’ second Disney classic role, after Cinderella in 2015, where an “unlikely romance forms between a cursed beast and his warm-hearted prisoner.”

Both lead roles have been given to those who are no strangers to the screen or the stage, as Oliver Chris has starred in Green Wing and Endeavour; while Lily James has appeared on Downtown Abbey, Cinderella, and Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, as well as in theatre works such as Othello, Romeo and Juliet, and All About Eve.

This year’s festive show on BBC Two for Comic Relief follows last year’s production of Cinderella, which starred Rege-Jean Page, Olivia Colman, Helena Bonham Carter, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Daniel Craig – they raised nearly £900,000.

Guz Khan, from the British comedy drama series Man Like Mobeen, who also played Buttons in Cinderella last year, will return as Bonzo in this year’s production of Beauty And The Beast. He will be joined by Kiell Smith-Bynoe, from Ghosts, playing as Beauty’s brother Jacques, along with Sian Gibson as their mother and Susan Wokoma, from Chewing Gum, as Amelie.

Comic Relief co-founder Richard Curtis said, “I don’t know that we’ve ever done anything for Comic Relief which was more full of a sense of fame and fun – last year the show made nearly a million pounds. I’m really hoping that Beauty And The Beast will also raise a beautiful amount of cash for all our brilliant projects at a pretty beastly time.”

The annual pantomime special will also feature Inbetweeners star Simon Bird, Call The Midwife actress Pam Ferris, and Celia Imrie from Better Things. Singer-songwriter Tom Rosenthal has been cast as Mr Bell, and others involved in the festive lineup are Miranda Hart, Lenny Henry, David Tennant, David Walliams, and Michael Sheen. Sir Quentin Blake will be providing illustrations for the upcoming production.

Beauty And The Beast: A Pantomime for Comic Relief will be airing on Sunday the 19^th of December at 9pm on BBC Two, so make sure you tune in for the annual festive special and enjoy the classis Disney story with your favourite stars!