The 90-minute film will star Dame Judi Dench (Skyfall) and Dustin Hoffman (Rain Man).

BBC One controller Charlotte Moore announced yesterday at the Edinburgh TV Festival: “It’s an honour to have Dame Judi Dench and Dustin Hoffman starring in this wonderful new adaptation. It’s absolutely stellar casting for one of the nation’s favourite children’s classics.”

Producer Hilary Bevan Jones added: “To bring together two of the world’s favourite actors in Dame Judi and Dustin is a dream come true. Richard and Paul have captured the magic of Roald Dahl’s wonderful tale and and I am thrilled that Dearbhla is to direct it.”

The official synopsis reads: “Mr Hoppy (Hoffman) is a retired bachelor, who harbours a secret passion for his neighbour, the lovely Mrs Silver (Dench). Unfortunately she lavishes all her affection on another… Alfie, her pet tortoise. Mr Hoppy yearns to talk to Mrs Silver, but tongue-tied and shy, his attempts always end in disaster. Mrs Silver’s greatest wish is for her tortoise Alfie to grow a little bigger. All seems lost for Mr Hoppy until he has the brightest, most devious of ideas. Will Mr Hoppy’s wildly ingenious plot win the love of his lady?”

Esio Trot begins filming in London in spring 2014.

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