Stellar cast announced for Roald Dahl’s Esio Trot adaptation for BBC One.

Dustin Hoffman and Dame Judi Dench are to star in a BBC 90-minute adaption of Roald Dahl’s Esio Trot for Endor Productions and BBC One.

Richard Curtis rekindles his partnership with Paul Mathew – Archer (with whom he wrote the The Vicar Of Dibley) to adapt the story for TV. Hilary Bevan Jones (Emmy Award-winner for The Girl In The Cafe; Producer Restless, The Escape Artist) will act as Producer on the film and Dearbhla Walsh (2009 Emma Award-winner for Little Dorrit; other credits: Funland, The Tudors, The Borgias, Talk To Me) will Direct.

Mr Hoppy, played by Dustin Hoffman, is a retired bachelor, who harbours a secret passion for his neighbour, the lovely Mrs Silver, Dame Judi Dench. Unfortunately she lavishes all her affection on another… Alfie, her pet tortoise. Mr Hoppy yearns to talk to Mrs Silver, but tongue-tied and shy, his attempts always end in disaster. Mrs Silver’s greatest wish is for her tortoise Alfie to grow a little bigger. All seems lost for Mr Hoppy until he has the brightest, most devious of ideas. Will Mr Hoppy’s wildly ingenious plot win the love of his lady?

Charlotte Moore, Controller, BBC One, says: ”It’s an honour to have Dame Judi Dench and Dustin Hoffman starring in this wonderful new adaptation. It’s absolutely stellar casting for one of the nation’s favourite children’s classics.”

Ben Stephenson, Controller, BBC Drama Commissioning, says: “An amazing cast and production team have come together to dramatise Roald Dahl’s wonderful, evergreen story. This film is a class act with a roll call of talent that only the BBC could assemble.”

Filming of Roald Dahl’s Esio Trot will begin next spring in London and will be distributed by Red Arrow International.