Tabby McTat author hopes politicians take message of kindness from film

But when Fred suffers from an accident, he loses Tabby and the little feline is left to fend for himself before he finds a new family to live with.

On the face of it there's a sweet children's story about family and love, but below the surface there's a story of homelessness that is a pertinent political issue today.

RadioTimes.com attended a press Q&A with author Donaldson, her long-time collaborator and illustrator Axel Scheffler, and voice of Sock, Susan Wokoma.

When asked if she hopes certain politicians would take kindness from the film, Donaldson explained: "That would be nice.

"When I'm writing a story I don't really go into the background. It's different with a novel, you'd go into the backstory of the characters. In the film, I thought it was good that Fred would sleep rough and then they thought about him getting re-housed. It's all very good and very convincing, but it didn't cross my mind; they were just buskers.

"But that's a lovely thought that this film could help some politicians become more humane."

Last month, then-Home Secretary Suella Braverman notably said that "living on the streets [is a] lifestyle choice" for many homeless people.

Wokoma added: "This was [made] quite a few months ago and where this world was originally set in the book wasn't London. It's really coincidental that these things happened before a certain politician said what they said.

"It's a really beautiful coincidence that we have the busker, and their housing situation in London. So the fact they've come together in a really organic way. I think the kind of crux of this story is compassion for everybody."

Tabby McTat will air at 2:35pm on BBC One on Christmas Day. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on.

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