From the X Files to the skies: Gillian Anderson to play witch in new BBC drama Room On The Broom

Gillian Anderson is to play a witch in television drama Room On The Broom. (PA)

Gillian Anderson is to play a witch as she leads the cast in a BBC adaptation of hit children's book Room On The Broom to be screened at Christmas.

The actress - who won acclaim for her portrayal of creepy Miss Havisham in a TV version of Great Expectations - will be among the star voices in the animated version of Julia Donaldson's book.

Also in the cast are Rob Brydon playing a cat, while David Walliams is to appear as a frog in the half-hour film, to be screened on BBC1.

It is being made by the team behind The Gruffalo and The Gruffalo's Child, also written by Children's Laureate Donaldson and illustrator Axel Scheffler.

Room On The Broom is to be narrated by comic actor Simon Pegg and features Martin Clunes as a dog and Sally Hawkins as a bird.

In the story, a kind witch invites an array of animals on to her broom - to the annoyance of her pet cat - until disaster strikes and it snaps under their weight, leaving them at the mercy of a dragon (played by Timothy Spall).

PA