Lawyers from Irwin Mitchell in Leeds have advised the team at Saffron Cherry on the production of a new Channel 5 and S4C TV programme, The World According to Grandpa.
The new humorous children’s series, which is scheduled to air on Channel 5 on 28 November, is based on books by Chris Heath and was influenced by the tales of his own grandad, Arturo Garcia.
The series features 2D animation with each episode prompted by a question posed by one of the four grandchildren to the grandpa, who will be played in the Milkshake! Channel 5 programme by leading theatre and TV actor Don Warrington MBE.
Sally Lindsay, renowned actor, writer and presenter, provides the voice of the other lead character, Halifax the rabbit, which has been produced by puppeteers Talk to the Hand Productions, and is operated by Julia Frost.
The show is designed to inspire children to laugh and learn through relatable intergenerational relationships and visually engaging animation and live action mix.
Grandpa Productions was commissioned to make 25 episodes. The shows will appear on Channel 5’s children’s programming block, Milkshake. A Welsh language version will also appear on S4C, the Welsh-language free-to-air TV channel.
The Channel 5 version will be produced by newly established Grandpa Productions, and led by company director Caroline Roberts-Cherry and Derek Drennan, who runs The Nest Productions. The Welsh language version for S4C will be co-produced by Angharad Garlick and the team at Cardiff-based production company Boom Cymru, alongside Grandpa Production.
The government-funded Leeds-based Young Audiences Content Fund (YACF) has also supported the production. The British Film Institute (BFI) manages YACF, which supports the creation of distinct, high-quality content for children and young audiences.
As the appointed production lawyers, Irwin Mitchell, which has offices in Leeds city centre, advised on all production and production finance agreements, including the negotiation and drafting of the broadcaster agreements with Channel 5 and S4C, and the production finance agreement with the BFI’s YACF and the distribution agreement with Beyond Distribution.
Partner Laura Harper led the Irwin Mitchell team, which included senior associate Aurelia Butler-Ball and solicitors Elizabeth Maloney, Grace McNulty-Brown, and Amelia Darbro. Senior associate Robert Farrell advised on the banking issues.
Harper, who is the national media and entertainment sector lead at Irwin Mitchell, said: “We’re delighted to be appointed by Grandpa Productions to handle all the legal aspects in connection to the production of The World According to Grandpa.”
“This was a great project involving close collaboration between many stakeholders and supported by the collective strength of our sport, media and entertainment team.”
Harper added: “It is a delightful children’s programme that the excellent team at Grandpa Productions can all be very proud of. The series highlights the wonderful relationship between grandparents and grandchildren. It was a pleasure to work on such a joyful and diverse production with Grandpa, and each of the stakeholders, to help realise this superb programme.”
Caroline Roberts-Cherry, founder of TV production company Saffron Cherry and executive producer of The World According to Grandpa, said: “Laura and her team offered a seamless and comprehensive service which freed up the creative team to focus on fire-breathing hamsters and cats that mine for jam, and of course our wonderful cast. It was also important to us that Irwin Mitchell were able to proactively cover off every aspect of the legals, which made us feel supported.”
Pictured: Sally Lindsay and Don Warrington. Credit: Paul Husband
