Wallace and Gromit return

Popular Plasticine cartoon characters Wallace and dog Gromit are returning to the screen for the first time since the Academy-Award winning 1995 short “A Close Shave.” The cheese-loving duo will make a cameo appearance in an episode of the new 13-part Aardman series “Rex the Runt,” a cartoon about the adventures of four dogs who share a suburban semi-detached home. Their brief appearance showcases them in their ‘Close Shave’ role of window cleaners, except this time they face the dastardly Bad Bob. “Rex the Runt” also features the celebrity voices of Kathy Burke (“Nil By Mouth”), comedian Eddie Izzard, Antoine de Caunes, Bob Monkhouse, June Whitfield and Paul Merton. The show, created by Richard Goleszowski, will air during the Christmas season on BBC Two.