Wallace and Gromit to return to screens over Christmas for a brand new adventure

'Wallace and Gromit' will be back on television at Christmas.

The stop-motion series - which was first aired in 1989 as 'A Grand Day Out' and follows the adventures of an inventor and his highly-skilled dog - has not been on screen for a new adventure since 'A Matter of Loaf and Death' in 2008 but it has now been confirmed that 'Vengeance Most Fowl' will air on BBC One over the coming festive period.

The new special will see the return of villainous penguin Feathers McGraw - who was imprisoned in a zoo after the duo foiled his plan to rob a museum in 'The Wrong Trousers' - and creator Nick Park admitted he hadn't really thought of a comeback for the character until he came up with the concept of Wallace developing a "smart gnome".

He said: "Then it hit me: What if Feathers was involved with these gnomes? We're hoping that this film will appeal to fans of 'Gnome Noir' everywhere."

In the trailer, Feathers is McGraw seen leaving a prison cell having been presented with his possessions - including the red rubber glove he used in the 1993 film to disguise himself as a chicken before revealing his true nature.

Following this, the character was mentioned in the 1995 film 'A Close Shave' when his name is seen scrawled on a prison cell wall but the antagonist has not actually appeared in any other films in the series.

Ben Whitehead will return as the voice of Wallace, having taken over from the 'Last of the Summer Wine' star Peter Sallis - who died in 2017 at the age of 96 - for the last short, while comedian Peter Kay will again voice the character of PC Mackintosh after initially playing him in the 2005 film 'The Curse of the Were-Rabbit'.

'League of Gentleman' star Reece Shearsmith has also joined the cast, along with 'Everybody's Talking About Jamie' actress Lauren Patel.

Celebrity cameos will include 'Mandy' star Diane Morgan, 'Bridgerton' actress Adjoa Andoh and comedian Sir Lenny Henry.