Looking for some festive TV to settle down to this Christmas and New Year?

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Here, we take a closer look at the new adaptation of the Douglas Adams classic, Watership Down, being screened this weekend.

The 1978 animated version of Richard Adams’ much-loved novel traumatised a generation - and sparked tweets from outraged parents when Channel 5 showed it on Easter Sunday a couple of years ago.

Apparently, even decades on from its release, a lot of people weren’t expecting a cartoon about bunnies to be quite so violent.

So, this new two-part adaptation from the BBC might initially seem an odd choice for Christmas viewing, but we should rest-assured that this take on the story won’t depict nature as being quite so red in tooth and claw.

Rory Aitken, executive producer at company 42, told The Telegraph: “Watership Down has grown this reputation for being scarring, horrific and brutal, but actually that’s not what the essence of the story is.

“While we won’t shy away from the darkness in the book, visually it won’t be as brutal and scarring.”

That won’t be the only change. The new adaptation, a co-production between the BBC and Netflix, will also feature more prominent roles for the female rabbits.

However, the basic premise remains the same. Set in the south of England, it’s the story of a group of brothers, led by stout-hearted brothers Hazel (James McAvoy) and Fiver (Nicholas Hoult), who fear that their warren is about to be destroyed by humans.

So, they set off in search of a new home - but it’s a journey fraught with danger.

In the second edition, which airs on Sunday, it becomes clear that the threat doesn’t just come from man, as the warren is menaced by the might of their fellow rabbit General Woundwort (Sir Ben Kingsley).

For some viewers, part of the excitement will come from trying to place all the famous voices. The cast includes Rosamund Pike, John Boyega, Gravesend's Gemma Arterton, Olivia Colman, Peter Capaldi, Daniel Kaluuya and Tara Egerton, and that’s genuinely just to name a few.

However, for people who do have fond memories of (rather than recurring nightmares about) that 1978 version, the big question is: who will be providing the theme song?

In the original film, the job fell to Art Garfunkel, whose rendition of Mike Batt’s tear-jerking Bright Eyes became the biggest-selling UK single of 1979.

In 2018, it’s Sam Smith who is stepping up with Fire on Fire, which was co-written with Steve Mac and recorded with the BBC Concert Orchestra.

Sam says: “I am so excited and honoured to be a part of this new adaptation of Watership Down. This story is so powerful and timeless, and it has been thrilling to work with... the incredible Steve Mac on this song for it. I hope everyone loves it as much as I do.”

Watership Down is on BBC1 on Saturday, December 22 at 7pm.