Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl reels us back into the claymation universe of Aardman's most popular characters - with an impressive cast of actors lending their voices.

Listen out for Reece Shearsmith, Lenny Henry and comedian Peter Kay, as we sadly move on from the Peter Sallis era.

Who plays inventor Wallace in Vengeance Most Fowl?

In the wake of Sallis's death at the age of 96 – he passed away from natural causes in 2017 – his longtime understudy Ben Whitehead has assumed the voice role of Wallace on a permanent basis, with Vengeance Most Fowl marking his first feature-length performance after playing minor character Mr. Leaching in 2005's The Curse of the Were-Rabbit and supplying back-up Wallace material for 2008's A Matter of Loaf and Death.

He recently told RadioTimes: "I was 14 when A Grand Day Out came out in 1989. I was a huge fan and did a Wallace voice to entertain people. Not in my wildest dreams did I think that one day I'd 'be' him.

"I was complete nervousness when I first met Peter," recalled Whitehead. "In Were-Rabbit, Helena Bonham Carter played Lady Campanula Tottington and Peter chastised me when her cardigan fell off the studio chair and I didn't notice. 'Why didn't you pick it up?' 'I'm scared, Peter! I'm with two great actors here. I don't know what to do!'"

As for his approach to the job, the vocal performer said "the important thing is not to be jarring, so people don't hear a completely different voice".

Whitehead has a strong allegiance to Aardman Animations, having also lent his voice to The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists! and Early Man. In the video game division, he's provided the Wallace goods for Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures and Wallace & Gromit in the Grand Getaway.

Peter Kay reprises his Curse of the Were-Rabbit character

National treasure Peter Kay is onboard Vengeance Most Fowl as the cast voice of Chief Inspector Albert Mackintosh after playing him as a Constable in 2005's Oscar-winning flick Were-Rabbit.

Expect puns aplenty once again from the man who tours the UK as a comedian and gave us such TV classics as That Peter Kay Thing, Phoenix Nights, Max and Paddy's Road to Nowhere, and Car Share.

His other credits include: Doctor Who (as the Abzorbaloff in 2006 episode Love & Monsters), Britain's Got the Pop Factor... and Possibly a New Celebrity Jesus Chris Soapstar Superstar Strictly on Ice (Geraldine McQueen), 24 Hour Party People (Don Tonay), Cradle to Grave (Fred 'Spud' Baker) and Inside No. 9 (Neil in 2017 episode Private View).

Who voices the robotic garden gnome Norbot in Wallace & Gromit this Christmas?

A true titan of British comedy, Reece Shearsmith is voicing the gnome named Norbot in this Christmas' Wallace & Gromit cast – he's designed to undertake menial household jobs before being hacked by ex-convict Feathers McGraw.

Alongside his work on The League of Gentlemen – portraying such memorable horrors as Edward Tattsyrup ('This is a local shop for local people, we'll have no trouble here!') and Papa Lazarou – the 55-year-old co-created Psychoville and Inside No. 9 with Steve Pemberton for the BBC.

Shearsmith has collaborated with filmmaker Edgar Wright on Spaced, Shaun of the Dead and The World's End, whilst amassing a multitude of enviable appearances in Good Omens, Saltburn, See How They Run, High-Rise, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Who voices Onya Doorstep in Vengeance Most Fowl?

Better known as Philomena Cunk to most viewers, actress Diane Morgan is voicing the Up North News reporter Onya Doorstep in the upcoming stop-motion film.

Cunk is a creation of Black Mirror's Charlie Brooker, who initially unleashed her via his Weekly Wipe series in 2013. This dopey character has since headlined her own mockumentaries, titled Cunk on Britain and Cunk on Earth.

Morgan's comedy pedigree was also displayed in Netflix's Death to 2020, After Life, Motherland and David Brent: Life on the Road.

Channel 4's Utopia, The Sandman, The Completely Made-Up Adventures of Dick Turpin, and Mandy are further projects she's been involved with across her career.

Who takes on the role of PC Mukherjee?

CI Albert Mackintosh's protégée PC Mukherjee has relative newcomer Lauren Patel's voice in Vengeance Most Fowl.

Up to now, she boasts just six other acting credits to her name - two of which are the shorts White Pudding Supper and Kiddo.

Notably, Patel's on-screen career began with a part as Pritti Pasha in the 2021 film Everybody's Talking About Jamie opposite Sharon Horgan, Sarah Lancashire, Richard E. Grant, Adeel Akhtar and Ralph Ineson.

Which stars cameo in Vengeance Most Fowl?

Meanwhile, Bridgerton's Lady Danbury herself Adjoa Andoh will show up as the Judge in Aardman's hotly-anticipated release.

A major player in the audiobook industry, Andoh's eye-catching CV is stuffed with parts in Doctor Who, Clint Eastwood's 2009 drama Invictus, Jonathan Creek, Adulthood, and The Tomorrow People.

The mighty Lenny Henry briefly stops by too in the Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl cast, as a guy named Mr. Convenience.

A co-founder of Comic Relief (with Richard Curtis), the star recently stretched his craft to play the fantastical Sadoc Burrows in Amazon Prime's The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power series.

Henry has stepped into the shoes of Ed Burnett in Broadchurch, the voice of the Night Bus's Shrunken Head in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and Remuel Drake in last year's Three Little Birds.

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl airs on BBC One on Christmas Day 2024 before launching internationally via Netflix on Friday, January 03, 2025.