''The Tailor of Gloucester'' is a television Christmas special first broadcast on 28 December 1989 on

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

. It is based on the

children's story "Children's Story" is a song recorded by British-American hip hop artist Slick Rick. Taken as the second single from his album ''The Great Adventures of Slick Rick'', the song was a Top 5 hit on both the Hot R&B Singles and the Hot Rap Tracks ...

by Beatrix Potter.

Plot

The film tells the story of a poor tailor, his cat, and the mice that live in his shop. He has many scraps of cloth and ribbons left over that are too small for any practical use. The mice take these and make fine clothes for themselves. The tailor sends his cat Simpkin to buy food and a twist of cherry-coloured silk for a coat the mayor has commissioned for his wedding, which will take place on Christmas morning. While the cat is gone, he frees the mice from teacups where Simpkin has imprisoned them. When Simpkin returns and finds his mice gone, he hides the twist in anger. When the tailor falls ill, the mice save the day by completing the coat. (One buttonhole remains incomplete because the mice run out of twist).

Cast

* Ian Holm as

The Tailor of Gloucester ''The Tailor of Gloucester'' is a children's book written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter, privately printed by the author in 1902, and published in a trade edition by Frederick Warne & Co. in October 1903. The story is about a tailor whose wor ...

* Thora Hird as The Mayor's Housekeeper *

Jude Law David Jude Heyworth Law (born 29 December 1972) is an English actor. He received a British Academy Film Award, as well as nominations for two Academy Awards, two Tony Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards. In 2007, he received an Honorary Césa ...

as the Mayor's Stableboy *

Barry Ingham Barrie Stanton Ingham (10 February 1932 – 23 January 2015) was an English actor, performing on stage and "in a handful of films." He was perhaps most widely known as "a prolific television actor". His notable work includes ''A Challenge for ...

as the Mayor *Other performers: Benjamin Luxon, Francois Testory

References

External links

* ITV children's television shows Christmas television specials 1989 television films 1989 films Beatrix Potter Films based on children's books 1980s English-language films {{Christmas-tv-film-stub