Meanwhile, Adjoa Andoh, who narrates the film, said that it was "obviously" an easy project to say yes to, and explained why. I think Christmas is the perfect time to think about loss, grief and those we wish were still with us. The story itself is a simple and heartwarming one, and the accompanying song by Sophie Ellis Bextor is a sweet little festive bop (if slightly twee.

This funny and warm-hearted escapade is in a beautiful board book format, complete with a stunning foiled cover for extra Christmas sparkle. Judith was awarded the Booktrust Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016, and in 2019 was named Illustrator of the Year at the British Book Awards.This new animation is a gentler affair, adapted from Kerr’s picture book of the same name, which was first published in 1976. You come with your own sense of what you think the story is going to be, then you see the animation, then you hear the music, then you hear the other actors – and the roster for Mog is absolutely sterling – then you have conversations with the other creatives in the studio.

Mog’s Christmas: The illustrated children’s picture book adventure of the nation’s favourite cat, from the author of The Tiger Who Came To Tea – as seen on TV in the Christmas animation! Kerr was born in Berlin but left Germany with her parents and her brother, Michael, in 1933, soon after the Nazis first came to power. When she spots the huge Christmas tree, she freaks out and climbs to the roof, where she refuses to move no matter how hard the family tries. Also a little lesson with regards to pets at Christmas time - especially the ones in which this is their first Christmas - which may not understand all the changes to their environment as well as their distracted people.And not just because that song a blight on humanity and the worst thing Paul ever recorded (I say that as someone who has seen Rupert and the Frog Song dozens of times).

It's Mog's first Christmas and chaos has descended on the house leaving Mog very much out in the cold!

From the creator of The Tiger Who Came to Tea and Mog the Forgetful Cat comes a delightful Christmas adventure about a really remarkable cat! Anyway, in this era of catch-up you can watch it whenever you like, and you should, because it’s the loveliest thing.

So it's hugely warm and entertaining and God knows we need as many warm, entertaining things as we can get at the moment. Mog’s first story, Mog the Forgetful Cat , was first published fifty years ago, and Mog has been delighting children all over the world with her escapades ever since. Adjoa Andoh’s narration gives exactly the right amount of seasonal sparkle to a script that borrows from other Mog books to round things out. When I was a smallish child (I have always been quite freakishly tall), I loved this book so much I thought my heart might burst. Ultimately, it’s all about Mog, and she’s as worried and plumptious as Kerr originally envisaged, stepping delicately across the rooftops, and rather less delicately through Mrs Thomas’s cooking.This funny, charmingly observed portrayal of family life is sure to resonate with parents and children alike. Claire Foy (The Crown, A Very British Scandal) plays Mrs Thomas, Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock, Dr Strange) is Mr Thomas, Miriam Margolyes (Harry Potter, The Age of Innocence) and Maggie Steed (Paddington 2, Fisherman’s Friends) play the Aunts, Zawe Ashton (Mr Malcolms List, Fresh Meat), is one of Mog’s neighbours, Mrs Gaynor, Charlie Higson (The Fast Show, Ted and Ralph) plays the Jolly Uncle, comedian Gareth Berliner (Dr Who) is the Chestnut Seller and newcomers Amelie Law (age 11) and Teddy Skelton (age 9) play children Debbie and Nicky. This means I have a more than normal investment in Channel 4’s adaptation of Judith Kerr’s 1976 children’s classic Mog ’s Christmas. They’re made with a level of care, attention and production values that would be unsustainable to produce more than once a year. We are on location at Lupus Films, where founders Camilla Deakin and Ruth Fielding, plus director Robin Shaw and the team are hard at work on Channel 4’s follow up to We’re Going On A Bear Hunt, The Snowman and The Snowdog and 2019’s The Tiger Who Came To Tea.