BBC to adapt Walliams book

BBC1 has commissioned a television adaptation of UK comedian David Walliams’ successful children’s book Gangsta Granny.

The one-hour comedy drama follows a schoolboy who is bored after being forced to stay at his grandma’s house, until he discovers that she used to be an international jewel thief and is now plotting to steal the British Crown Jewels.

Gangsta Granny is the fourth children’s book from Little Britain star Walliams and has sold 430,000 copies since it was published in 2011. The one-off TV production follows a similar adaptation of another Walliams book, Mr Stink, in 2012 and will be co-written by the same Bafta-nominated team: Walliams, Kevin Cecil and Andy Riley.

The programme was ordered by Danny Cohen – before he was promoted from controller of BBC1 to be the corporation’s director of television last week – and controller of comedy commissioning Shane Allen.

It will form part of BBC1’s Christmas line-up later this year, produced by BBC Comedy in conjunction with Bert Productions, and executive produced by head of BBC in-house comedy Mark Freeland.