David Walliams: Kate The Great

When the adaptation of David Walliams's children's book, The Boy In The Dress, was given the green light by the BBC to be shown this Christmas, the author knew that there was only one woman to play his little protagonist's dream girl, and only one publication to put her on the cover of: Kate Moss and Vogue.

"The little boy, Dennis, finds his life boring - he wants to live in a different world - and so he walks to the newsagents and is drawn to the cover of Vogue magazine," Walliams explained to us. "It couldn't have been anything else, Vogue is so iconic. As Dennis walks towards the shelf, Kate - on the cover - comes to life in a dream sequence and she starts talking to him. It really reflects my own love of Vogue and all things fashion."

Moss & Walliams

It's easy, of course, to see why Moss was the obvious choice - but what does Walliams, who is married to his own supermodel Lara Stone, think makes Moss stand out?

"It's rare that you become iconic in your own lifetime. Fashion is niche - it doesn't touch everyone's life in the way that something like music can, but Kate is iconic to everybody and people are fascinated by her," he enthused. "She has an enigma to her. You don't know much about her but you know she's always having fun and you want to have fun with her."

Walliams and Moss have, however, been aquainted for some time, with the supermodel performing as Vicki Pollard's "easy" sister Katie back in the infamous Little Britain sketch for Comic Relief in 2006, and even calling on the comedian to create a special birthday present for her daughter, Lila.

"I knew that her daughter, Lila, read my children's books because Kate had asked me to sign a couple of copies for her," he revealed. "Then for her birthday, she asked me to write a special story for her, incorporating people that are in her life, and then it was given to everyone that attended her birthday party."

Much like Dennis, Walliams has his very own dream sequence, although his comprises people that he would like to work with.

"It's never, ever going to happen, but I would love to cast Daniel Day Lewis. I saw him years ago playing Hamlet at the National Theatre and ever since then I loved him," he revealed. "There are, though, certain people that you almost don't want to meet because you are so in awe of them. Sean Connery is another one - but again, probably not going to happen as he is retired - and Jennifer Lawrence, I'd like to work with her."
Kate has an enigma to her. You don't know much about her but you know she's always having fun

For now though, his complete attention is on the Christmas adaptation - something that Walliams himself described as "a love letter to Vogue" - and he's, understandably, very proud of the end result.

"It's hard to talk about your own work but I hope people find it funny and touching," he said. "My story is of a little boy at school that dresses up as a little girl, so it's more challenging for some. But luckily the world is changing and attitudes are changing - it's certainly different from when I was at school. I had tears in my eyes watching some of the other actors' scenes, they were so moving. It's about difference and people accepting that people are different."