Oscar-winner Jim Broadbent is temporarily leaving film work to produce and star in a television project.
When he finishes filming Vanity Fair, which he is currently shooting with the American actress Reese Witherspoon, he will move on to The Young Visiters, which is being planned by the BBC as a 90-minute Christmas special.
“It’s an absolutely wonderful story,” says Broadbent, who won an oscar for his work in Iris. “It was written by a nine-year-old girl named Daisy Ashford in the 1890s for her mother and it will make a marvellous Christmas television programme.
“I expect the BBC will be selling it around the world for years to come.”
Broadbent, who has recently been concentrating on film work, is also contemplating a return to the stage before too long.
“I read a play the other day which is very tempting,” he said. “I might do it. It all depends if I can fit it in with other commitments next year.”