Jennifer Saunders joins Moominvalley cast

Jennifer Saunders, Matt Lucas and Alison Steadman have joined the cast of \'Moominvalley\'.

The trio of stars are the latest big names to sign up for the upcoming Sky One animated TV series, which will be based on Tove Jansson\'s classic stories.

\'Absolutely Fabulous\' star Jennifer will voice the character of Mymble, while Matt and Alison will voice Teety-Woo and Emma the Stage Rat respectively.

\'Gavin and Stacey\' actress Alison had a great time recording her parts.

She said: "I was so thrilled to be asked to take part in \'Moominvalley\'. It\'s such a brilliant show and different from anything I\'ve ever done before. The recording was so fun, I didn\'t want it to end!"

The trio are not the only people to be added to the cast as \'Harry Potter\' actress Katie Leung and \'The Danish Girl\'s Rebecca Root will voice Too-Ticky and Misabel.

They join a number of previously announced cast members, including Kate Winslet as Mrs. Fillyjonk, Taron Egerton as Moomintroll and Rosamund Pike, who will voice Moominmamma.

Creative Director and Executive Producer at Finland-based production company Gutsy Animations, Marika Makaroff, said: "We always knew we had a very special project on our hands and it is extremely gratifying to see that others - so many of whom have worked on countless award-winning films and shows - think so too. We\'re delighted to welcome these exceptionally talented actors to the \'Moominvalley\' family and can\'t wait to share their, and our, work on the show with the world."

Gutsy Animations are producing two 13-episode series, with episodes running for 22 minutes.

\'Moominvalley\' will broadcast in 2019 on Sky One in the UK and public broadcaster YLE in Finland.