In this star-studded Christmas fantasy, a television-addicted girl steps through the screen to find a missing baby in a world populated by famous faces.
The story begins with celebrity couple Jackie Rae and Janette Scott searching for a babysitter for their new baby. They hire Alice (Jeannie Carson), a young woman obsessed with television. When the baby suddenly vanishes, the White Rabbit (Spike Milligan) emerges from the TV set and invites Alice to follow him into the world of “Telly” to find the child.
Inside this strange dimension, she meets a gallery of Lewis Carroll’s characters played by television stars, including the Mad Hatter (Ron Moody), the Cheshire Cat (Bob Monkhouse), the Queen of Hearts (Adele Leigh), and the Caterpillar (Donald Pleasence). The search for the baby is also joined by the heroes of contemporary drama series, with Inspector Paul Derek (John Bentley), Mark Saber (Donald Gray), Dr Geoffrey Brent (Ian Hendry), and William Tell (Conrad Phillips) all appearing as their established characters.
A major television event for Christmas Day 1960, this production used the framework of Lewis Carroll’s stories as a vehicle for a spectacular variety show. The script by Sid Colin and Jimmy Grafton created a meta-fantasy where the world of television itself was the wonderland. The format allowed for an immense assembly of talent from comedy, music, and drama, functioning as a televisual pantomime for the network’s biggest stars. Its most notable feature was the crossover element, bringing characters from popular drama series such as Police Surgeon and Mark Saber into the fantasy. This was an inventive gimmick that created a shared universe of ITV personalities, making the special a unique snapshot of the television landscape of its time.
Broadcast: ABC, 1 Episode, Sunday, 25 December 1960
Written by: Sid Colin, Jimmy Grafton
Director: Michael Mills
Producer: Brian Tesler
Designer: Voytek
Music by: Bob Sharples and his Music
Musical numbers staged by: Tommy Linden
Main Cast: Jeannie Carson (Alice), Spike Milligan (The White Rabbit), Bernard Bresslaw, Dora Bryan, Ronnie Corbett (The Dormouse), Fanny Cradock (The Duchess of Larkin), David Hughes (The King of Hearts), Adele Leigh (The Queen of Hearts), Michael Medwin (The Knave of Hearts), Bob Monkhouse (The Cheshire Cat), Ron Moody (The Mad Hatter), Pete Murray (The Red King), Donald Pleasence (The Caterpillar), Jackie Rae, Janette Scott, Harry Secombe, Joan Sims, Mike Winters (Tweedledee), Bernie Winters (Tweedledum), Marty Wilde, John Bentley (Inspector Paul Derek), Donald Gray (Mark Saber), Ian Hendry (Dr Geoffrey Brent), Conrad Phillips (William Tell), The Vernons Girls
