Grandpa's Great Escape

Grandpa’s Great Escape is set in London in the 1980s and tells the tale of Grandpa, a World War II flying ace, who sadly is now confused, still believing that World War II hasn't ended and longing to re-live his past. When his family can no longer look after him he is moved to an old people’s home called Twilight Towers, run by Miss Swine.

It soon becomes clear Miss Swine is running Twilight Towers for her own good profit and it is up to Grandpa and his grandson Jack, the only one who can understand his beliefs, to make a daring escape. Grandpa takes a final chance to relive his past and once again flies in his beloved Spitfire.

Linda Lawlor from The Book Bag gave Grandpa's Great Escape a 4-and-a-half-star review, saying "Utterly silly from start to finish and yet it leaves the reader with a warm, cosy feeling. Forget about whether anything in the plot makes the slightest sense – just sit back and enjoy the ride" and "Tony Ross's superb illustrations add immeasurably to the carefree, slightly manic tone of the text."[3]

On 22 September 2017 it was announced that the book would be adapted for BBC One and be shown at Christmas 2017. The script was written by Walliams and Kevin Cecil and starred Tom Courtenay as Grandpa, Kit Connor as Jack and Jennifer Saunders as Miss Dandy, with Samantha Spiro and Walliams as Jack's parents, Patricia and Barry.[4] The film was shown on New Year's Day 2018[5] to an overnight audience of around 5 million.