ADORING young fans had a lamb-tastic time when they came flocking to meet their woolly hero Shaun the Sheep in Wrexham.
It was a ewe-nique experience for scores of his followers when their fleecy friend made a series of public appearances throughout the morning as part of a packed summer holiday activities programme at the Eagles Meadow shopping centre.
After featuring in Wallace & Gromit’s 1995 short film, A Close Shave, Shaun was given his own TV show and recently made it to the big screen in a new feature film which unfolds without a single word being said.
Back home on Mossy Bottom Farm, he’s a clever, confident sheep, prone to mischief but equally adept at getting himself and his friends Blitzer the sheepdog and Timmy his cousin out of it.
Shaun now stars in a whole flock of DVDs and books and his name appears on a range of toys and clothing.
One of the first to meet him at Eagles Meadow was five-year-old Finley Duckett who reckons Saun’s best baaa none.
After meeting his hero Finley, who was there with his mum, Kelly, and his little sister, Lola-Rae, one, from Caego, Wrexham, said: “What I love best about him is the noises he makes, like baa-ing.
“I’ve seen him on TV and my DVDs and it was great to meet him today.”
Hayley Matthews had brought along her four-year-old son, Harvey, from Hightown in Wrexham.
She said: “He’s a really big Shaun fan and he’s got all the films he’s in.”
Harvey himself said: “I met him and he was so cuddly, which was great.”
Meeting Shaun was a family affair for nine-year-old Ben Jones from Wrexham who turned up at Eagles Meadow with his cousin, Kaiden Jones, five, who was visiting the area from his home in Newcastle.
Kaiden said: “I’ve got my own sheep at home and I’ve called him after Shaun who I love.
“Meeting him today has been really good.”
Another youngster who met Shaun was so delighted about being given a warm welcome by his hero that he tried to hand over mum’s shopping as a little gift.
Fortunately, mum Fleur spotted two-year-old Judah Leslie from Wrexham before he had the chance to present Shaun with some cupcakes and breadsticks.
Fleur said: “He’s a massive fan and I have to sing him the Shaun the Sheep song at least once every day.”
Six-year-old Sasha Koswaththage, from Gwersyllt enjoyed meeting Paddington Bear when he made his appearance at Eagles Meadow a week ago that she was back there to see Shaun along with her little sister, Tiana, two.
Her mum, Kelly, said: “She likes Paddington but is also a huge fan of Shaun.”
Sasha agreed and her verdict: “Meeting him was great!”
Shaun the Sheep’s appearance was the latest in a series of similar visits to Eagles Meadow by popular children’s TV characters during August.
TV and film favourite SpongeBob SquarePants will be heading to the shopping centre next on Tuesday, August 18.
His series chronicles the adventures of himself and his friends in the fictional underwater city of Bikini Bottom.
SpongeBob is one of Nickelodeon’s highest rated shows and has won a host of awards including two Emmy Awards and two BAFTA Children’s Awards.
Last but not least is The Gruffalo who’ll be arriving in Wrexham on Tuesday, August 25.
The Gruffalo is one of the world’s best-loved picture book characters. Since it was first published in 1999, the award-winning story of mouse’s encounter with The Gruffalo in the deep dark wood has continued to delight children and adults the world over.
Eagles Meadow manager Kevin Critchley said: “I am delighted to say that all Shaun the Sheep’s young fans had a lovely time and we’re looking forward to welcoming SpongeBob SquarePants next week.”
