WE ALL know the story of Cinderella – the enslaved stepdaughter who finds her fairy tale ending with the dashing Prince Charming. But what happens after they skip off into the sunset?
David Walliams aims to find out with his latest festive offering, Cinderella: After Ever After. Turning the classic tale on its head, the anarchic Sky One special begins where the fairytale ends. For Cinderella, who has just married her Prince Charming, soon has a rude awakening when she realises married life isn't all it's cracked up to be when you have an image-obsessed, floss-dancing, hip-hop rapping husband.
Perhaps a glass slipper fitting your foot is not sufficient grounds for a lifelong commitment after all?
"When you read a story to a child and it ends 'they lived happily ever after' the child often asks what happened next?" reasons Walliams (48), who co-wrote the 60-minute film with comedy tour de force The Dawson Brothers.
"Now, for the first time in history, we will reveal what happened next for Cinderella, Prince Charming and the Wicked Stepmother. What happened, 'After Ever After'?"
So why go for Cinders, over other fairytale princesses?
"Well it's probably one of the most famous ones, and there was just a big movie of it as well, wasn't there – Kenneth Branagh?" recalls the Little Britain star. "So we thought it was fresh in people's minds.
"It's certainly the first one I think of," he adds. "And because of the marriage at the end, it all being so sudden, there was probably something to do about that.
"In the past people just accepted that part of the story, but I feel now people are much more likely to question whether it's a good idea to meet someone at a ball and immediately marry them, just because their name is Charming and they're kind of good-looking."
On that note, Londoner Walliams – quick to protest "not in this version, but normally" – plays none other than Charming, with Sian Gibson taking on Cinderella as she fights to save The King (Sir Tom Courtenay) from the traps of her evil stepmother Madame Blackheart (Celia Imrie) and stepsisters.
"I was desperate to work with Sir Tom again," Walliams fesses of his all-star line-up. "We'd done Grandpa's Great Escape together and we had such a good time; and Sian and I only met socially through Peter Kay, a mutual friend, and she seemed like the perfect Cinderella.
"There was an idea I should play Prince Charming and I was like, 'I'm really too old', so forgive me."
Having learnt a rather energetic MC Hammer routine for the part, he follows: "I [also] realised I am one of the world's worst dancers.
"People always say, 'Oh when are you going to do Strictly?' Well I've found out the answer is 'never.' It was just meant to be a spoof on... you know, when you go to a wedding and people do that little routine? But after weeks and months and dance lessons, [I'd] still no idea how to do it!"
Cinderella shunned traditions too – but rather than have her pull off some extravagant moves, Walliams was keen to rework the traditional 'princess' tropes to speak to a modern feminist audience.
"We wanted to make Cinderella a strident, strong woman and not a victim of her circumstances," he explains. "But also while making it entertaining, so it wasn't something we were bashing the audience over the head with!
"But it's got to be modern and, interestingly – kids are questioning those things, aren't they?" he asks. "There's also this thing about Sleeping Beauty with the Prince waking her up with a kiss, which people question.
"That's the great thing about these stories, you can reflect the time that you're in," he chimes. "This is a fairy story, it's been retold so many times, but you don't have to be slavish to the version of it. And in fact this is a sequel, so it gave us even more licence to go wherever we wanted with it.
"And you'll do it in another 10 years and it's going to be different again!"
The festive offering will mark Walliams' return to Sky One after two hugely successful adaptations, The Queen And I and the Emmy award-winning Ratburger – both major ratings hits. It's fair to say he has become something of a holiday season staple.
"The thing is that if you do something that kids like, kids like to watch things again and again, so people tell me about Ratburger, 'My child has watched it every day over half term' or whatever," he says.
"It's also nice to do something for kids that's got a bit of an edge to it. I always think the best things for kids work for the grown-ups too but don't exclude the kids, so hopefully if the grown-ups watch this with their kids they'll enjoy it too because there's enough humour in there."
:: Cinderella: After Ever After is due to premiere on Sky One at 8pm today.
