Gangsta Granny: The beloved bestseller from David Walliams celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2021

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I’ve had a fair bit of input in turning Gangsta Granny from a book into this TV version. The script was originally written by Kevin Cecil and Andy Riley, two brilliant comedy writers who wrote Gnomeo & Juliet, amongst other things. They adapted the book first, which was great, because it was fresh sets of eyes on what I had already done. Then I came in at a later date and we worked together on it. I think with an adaptation the book exists, it will always exist, and this is a chance to really build on the book – try and make it funnier, try and make it more moving, add in elements which weren’t even originally in the book. I think sometimes authors can be too proscriptive about wanting to change any line, but I think it’s a different medium, and because I come from writing for TV I understand that. You do hear horror stories about writers who’ve written famous book and they hate the idea that a word has been changed, but you just have to because it’s something different. The other thing is that the book is almost exclusively aimed at kids, whereas the film is hopefully going to be watched by families, people of all ages, so you’ve got to make it work for a broader audience. Granny dies, and her jewellery box is donated to charity. Ben reads at his local newsagent's that a jewellery box worth millions had been anonymously left at a charity shop. Granny's legacy is remembered at Christmas, when the Queen delivers a message saying that young people should be more caring towards the elderly, in which she indirectly mentions her meeting with Ben and Granny in the Tower of London. At the same time, Ben's parents Mike ( David Walliams) and Linda ( Miranda Hart), who are dance fanatics and aware of Ben's passion for plumbing are encouraged by his lie that the noises they heard when he returned home through his bedroom window (after sneaking out to see Granny) was actually him dancing, so decide to enter him into a ballroom dancing competition as a partner to Florence ( India Ria Amarteifio). Granny's local neighbours, Mr Parker ( Rob Brydon) and his son (George Hill), watch over Ben's movements to and from Granny's house and suspect that the duo are up to no good.

The author gives a step-by-step guide for pretending to brush your teeth. Can you write a set of instructions which show people how to brush their teeth properly? Write a biography for Flavio Flavioli, the dancer from Italy who performs on Strictly Stars Dancing. This TV film is one of many of Walliams's kids' books which seems to be syndicated to appear every Christmas and New Year in the UK. Despite being produced in the last century, it already feels old because it is written in a way that dates it to a particular era of linguistics. In the film Ben suggests his grandma should be "more gangsta", and the use of language here dates to between 2005-2015 (at a stretch), beyond which, this kind of linguistic became 'lame'. The car swung around the corner into Grey Close, where Granny’s bungalow squatted. It was one of a whole row of sad little homes, mainly inhabited by old people. Gangsta Granny Strikes Again! is a hilarious and wonderfully entertaining adventure, featuring many of the much-loved characters from the original cast...Watch this video in which the author answers questions and reads part of the book. Think of some questions that you would like to ask: Gangsta Granny \"They go out of date tomorrow,\" said Raj, as he lumbered over to the freezer cabinet, slid open the glass top and pulled out a cardboard box of Cornettos. A freezing cold mist immediately You’re not helping, wife,” muttered Dad. “At worst my mother has a very slight odour of boiled vegetables.” He goes home and now can't wait to see his grandma again to find out about these jewels. But when his dad rings Granny up, she says she's too busy that evening to have Ben sleep over. Gangsta Granny \"In fairness to the boy she does stink of cabbage,\" agreed Mum, as she applied some last minute lip-liner. \"You're not helping, wife,\" muttered Dad. \"At worst my mother has a very slight odour of boiled vegetables.\" \"Can't I come with you?\" pleaded Ben. \"I love ball-whatsit dancing,\" he lied. \"It's called ballroom dancing,\" corrected Dad. \"And you don't love it. You said, and I quote, 'I would rather eat my own bogeys than watch that rubbish'.\" Now, Ben's mum and dad loved ballroom dancing. Sometimes Ben thought they loved it more than they loved him. There was a TV show on Saturday evenings that Mum and Dad never missed called Strictly Stars Dancing, where celebrities would be paired with professional ballroom dancers. 12

You’re upsetting your mother. Now just be quiet please, Ben, there’s a good boy,” replied Dad firmly, as he turned up the volume on the stereo. Inevitably, a Strictly CD was playing. 50 Golden Greats from the Hit TV Show was emblazoned on the cover. Ben hated the CD, not least because he had heard it a million times. In fact, he had heard it so many times it was like torture.Mr Parker has a very large nose and wears dark clothing, a distinctive pork-pie hat and a bow tie. He is an irritating and extremely nosy man who uses binoculars to spy on his neighbours. When he speaks, Mr Parker has a nasal voice which can sound rather annoying.” What I hope young viewers will take away is the good lesson about old people not being boring just because they’re old and they’ve got great stories to tell and information to impart to you. You’ve got to really relish that time with them, because when you’re a kid, your grandparents are not going to be around forever and to hear all of their stories, it’s really important otherwise they’ll be lost forever. An adult watching it may be watching it through the eyes of Mike, my character, and Linda, Miranda’s character, really thinking more about their children and listening to their children about what they want to do because Ben in the story wants to be a plumber but his parents are trying to force him into ballroom dancing. And then if there are grannies and granddads watching, they might have another view of it because they’ll probably relate to the character of granny more, and the pleasure of telling amazing stories to their grandchildren, I suppose.

Plumbing Weekly shrouded the shop. \"Look! Best Before 15th of November.\" Ben studied the box. \"It says Best Before 15th of November 1996.\" \"Well,\" said Raj. \"Even more reason to put them on special offer. OK, Ben, this is my final offer. Buy one box of Cornettos, I will give you ten boxes absolutely free!\" \"Really Raj, no thanks,\" said Ben. He peered into the freezer cabinet to see what else might be lurking in there. It had never been defrosted and Ben wouldn't have been surprised to find a perfectly preserved woolly mammoth from the Ice Age inside. \"Hang on,\" he said, as he moved a few frost­ encrusted ice lollies out of the way. \"It's in here! Plumbing Weekly!\" \"Ah yes, I remember now,\" said Raj. \"I put it in there to keep it fresh for you.\" 35

Teaching Ideas and Resources:

A Little Broken \"Aaaahhhhkkkk... pfffttttt... aaaaaahhhhhhk kkkkk . . . pppppppptttttt... \" No, reader, you haven't bought the Swahili edition of this book by mistake. That was the sound Ben was waiting for. Granny snoring. She was asleep. \"Aaaaaahhhhkkkkkkk... pppppfffffffttttttt... aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhkkkkkkk... \" Ben crept out of his room and made his way over to the telephone in the hall. It was one of those old style telephones that purred like a cat 47 Cabbagy Water stereo. Inevitably, a Strictly CD was playing. 50 Golden Greats from the Hit TV Show was emblazoned on the cover. Ben hated the CD, not least because he had heard it a million times. In fact, he had heard it so many times it was like torture. Ben's mum worked at the local nail salon, 'Gail's Nails'. Because there weren't many customers, Mum and the other lady who worked there (unsurprisingly called Gail) spent most days doing each other's nails. Buffing, cleaning, tnmmmg, moisturising, coating, sealing, polishing, filing, lacquering, extending and painting. They were doing things to each other's nails all day long (unless Flavio Flavioli was on daytime TV). That meant Mum would always come home with extremely long multi­ coloured plastic extensions on the end of her fingers. 15 Write about one of the adventures that granny might have had when she was the most wanted jewel thief in the world. David Walliams says: “It is a thrill to revisit these characters in a brand new story. I hope families are going to love this comedy adventure story. A huge thank you to the BBC for making it happen.”

Well there’s quite a bit of responsibility turning such a well-loved book into a TV show because people know the characters. I was with some friends the other night and they had 10 and nine year old kids, and they were all quoting Linda, and you think “oh gosh, they all really know it and love it and see it in a certain way”, so there is a responsibility to that. At the same time it’s lovely, because you know that people really know and love the story, and love the characters. They wish this show well which is really nice, you’ve got a real mandate for it. It’s been interesting seeing David having a general overview of the set, how it looks, saying “oh I think they’d have more clutter here” or “Linda would be a bit more like this”, and just giving a general overview, which as a writer/performer myself is something I do as well.Imagine that you are Mr Parker. Create a set of Neighbourhood Watch rules to help others in the community stay safe from crime.