The Boy In The Dress. Dennis (Billy Kennedy). Copyright: BBC / King Bert Productions
The Boy In The Dress

The Boy In The Dress

  • TV comedy drama
  • BBC One
  • 2014
  • 1 episode

An adaptation of David Walliams's book about a 12-year-old boy who enjoys cross-dressing. Stars Billy Kennedy, Temi Orelaja, Jennifer Saunders, James Buckley, Tim McInnerny and more.

Key details

Genre
Comedy Drama
Broadcast
2014
Channel
BBC One
Episodes
1
Creator
David Walliams
Stars
Billy Kennedy, Temi Orelaja, Jennifer Saunders, James Buckley, Tim McInnerny, Felicity Montagu, Steve Speirs, Meera Syal and more
Writers
David Walliams, Kevin Cecil and Andy Riley
Director
Matt Lipsey
Producers
Francis Gilson, Jo Sargent and Mark Freeland
Companies

An hour-long Christmas special that tells the story of a boy who enjoys cross-dressing, and the reactions of his family and friends.

The story is an adaptation of the first book written by David Walliams.

The Boy In The Dress tells the story of 12-year-old Dennis. He is an ordinary boy, who lives in an ordinary town - but he feels different.

His mum has gone off with a roofer and he lives with his dad and brother. Everything is boring and grey. Dennis wants to escape to some sort of magical world, and discovers it in the most unexpected place - Raj's newsagent.

A chance view of Kate Moss on the cover of a fashion magazine introduces Dennis to a whole new world of colour and creativity. Thankfully he has an ally in Lisa, the coolest girl in school, who decides to teach him everything she knows about the world of fashion and clothes. Dennis is enthralled, and after a little persuasion from Lisa tries on a dress she has created. Soon they decide to try and pass Dennis off as 'Denise', Lisa's French pen pal. But can a boy wear a dress, and what will his Headmaster Mr Hawthorn think if he finds out - let alone Dennis's dad, his best friend Darvesh and his school football team-mates?

Additional details

Part of

David Walliams Comedies

Production
Studio
Picture
Colour

Broadcast details

First broadcast
Friday 26th December 2014 at 6:55pm on BBC One
Episode length
65 minutes
Most recent repeats
  • Friday 29th December 2023 at 7:30am on W
  • Thursday 28th December 2023 at 8:20am on W
  • Sunday 10th December 2023 at 4:45pm on CBBC

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