BBC announces Christmas Day air date and releases trailer for the return of Wallace and Gromit

The BBC have confirmed that the long-awaited return of Wallace & Gromit, in their new feature-length adventure Vengeance Most Fowl, will premiere this Christmas Day on BBC iPlayer and BBC One. The news has been accompanied by the release of a brand-new trailer, plus new artwork featuring Wallace & Gromit as they encounter their returning arch-nemesis Feathers McGraw.

Also announced today, the BBC will celebrate the forthcoming premiere of Vengeance Most Fowl with three specially commissioned idents. Featuring Wallace, Gromit and new character Norbot in a variety of locations, the festive idents – created by Aardman – will play out on BBC One between programmes for the entirety of December.

Vengeance Most Fowl is Wallace & Gromit’s return to their home at the BBC 16 years after their previous adventure. The highly-anticipated feature-length film sees Gromit’s growing concern as Wallace becomes over-dependent on his inventions – which proves justified when Wallace creates a ‘smart gnome’ that seems to develop an evil mind of its own. As events begin to spiral out of control, it’s up to Gromit to put aside his qualms and battle sinister forces, or Wallace may never be able to invent again!

But who could possibly be behind such evil actions?! Rightfully behind bars for all this time, Feathers McGraw is back with vengeance. Feathers McGraw was last seen in 1993’s BAFTA and Academy Award winning short The Wrong Trousers.

The voice cast will feature Ben Whitehead as Wallace, the eccentric, cheese-loving inventor from the North of England who lives with his best friend and loyal pooch, Gromit. Peter Kay returns as Chief Inspector Macintosh alongside Lauren Patel (Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, Lloyd of the Flies) as his latest eager recruit PC Mukherjee. The new film also features cameos from Diane Morgan (Afterlife, Motherland) as a local TV news reporter, Adjoa Andoh (Bridgerton, Invictus) as the judge, Muzz Khan (Brassic, Galavant) as the host of Up North News, and Lenny Henry (Three Little Birds, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power) as Mr Convenience.

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (1×79’) will premiere on BBC iPlayer and BBC One this Christmas and, outside of the UK, will be available globally on Netflix on 3 January 2025. Made by Aardman, it is directed by Nick Park (creator of Wallace & Gromit and Shaun the Sheep) and Merlin Crossingham (Creative Director, Wallace & Gromit and Animation Director, Early Man) with the story written by Nick Park and Mark Burton (Madagascar, Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, Shaun the Sheep Movie). The screenplay is by Mark Burton and the film is produced by Richard Beek. The score for Vengeance Most Fowl has been composed by Julian Nott and Lorne Balfe.

Wallace and Gromit’s previous adventures can be enjoyed on BBC iPlayer.

EJ