The third series of the hugely popular children’s TV show ‘Grandpa in my Pocket’ is to be produced in Wales by the same creative team responsible for its international success.
The announcement comes hot on the heels of the news that the series won the Bafta Cymru Award for the Best Children’s category.
The Welsh Assembly Government is supporting the production through the Single Investment Fund to ensure the latest series is made in Wales, providing an important boost for the creative sector.
It anticipated it will generate an additional spend of £421,000 within the creative sector in Wales. The first two series were also produced in Wales and supported by Finance Wales.
‘Grandpa in my Pocket’ is written and produced by Mellie Buse and Jan Page of Adastra Creative Ltd who have been working in children’s media for more than fifteen years.
Set in the picture book village of Sunnysands it is a magical story about seven year old Jason Mason and his Grandpa. Grandpa has a magic shrinking cap which, when he puts it on, makes him shrink to the size of a coffee cup. He can get up to all sorts of mischief when he’s small but he and Jason always work together to make everything turn out for the best.
Mellie explained that at the heart of the series lies the precious relationship between Grandparent and Grandchild which is undoubtedly what has made it such a hit with family viewing.
The series, originally commissioned by Cbeebies, is now also shown on BBC1 and has been sold to 100 countries overseas. It stars James Bolam as Grandpa and child actor Jay Ruckley from Barry as Jason.
Ieuan Wyn Jones, Minister for the Economy and Transport, said the Assembly Government was committed to support the growth of the dynamic creative industry sector in Wales.
“Supporting the production of film and drama in Wales not only brings real financial benefits for companies in this sector but also serves to highlight and showcase the wealth of expertise available here.
“I congratulate the team on their recent recognition by Bafta Cymru and am pleased the Assembly Government is supporting the production of the latest series in Wales.”
A ground-breaking production, ‘Grandpa in My Pocket’ was the first live action drama commission for a pre-school channel – and the first show for this age group involving live action and animation.
Mellie said she was delighted the third series will be a Welsh production and ensures the continuation of the highly creative collaboration between Adastra Creative, which is based in Cambridge and Cardiff based Dinamo Productions who carry out the animation.
The wider creative team from Wales includes Enfys Studios, Cranc, Soundworks and Mwnci. The Production Manager is Bryan Moses and Jack Wyn Williams is the Production Accountant.
“We have built up a tremendous relationship with the team from Wales who make an incredible contribution to the success of the show and it’s a real joy to work with them,” she said.
“They bring a huge amount of individual expertise, knowledge and enthusiasm to the production and their commitment is second to none. which is why we would like to do more and more productions in Wales if possible. In short, anything that can be done in Wales, we’ll do in Wales.
“The support from the Welsh Assembly Government has enabled this to happen and this means that the production is fully financed and produced in the UK which is exactly what the industry has been campaigning for.”
Filming on the next 13 episodes and a Christmas special is due to commence on July 26 through to August 20.
