Businesses within the West of England’s TV and film sector were among those recognised by the Royal Television Society (RTS) at a top industry awards show.
Bristol-based studio A Productions took home an RTS West of England award for their work on an animated Christmas special of Sesame Street, alongside Sesame Workshop, the organisation behind the long-running children’s TV series.
A Productions, which is also known for its work on CBeebies pre-school series JoJo and Gran Gran , developed the animation and design of Sesame Street: The Nutcracker Starring Elmo and Tango , which aired in the US in December.
The company which, employs a team of around 150 people at its two Bristol offices, previously collaborated with Sesame Workshop on the first-ever animated Sesame Street special, The Monster At The End of This Story.
Read more: Bristol’s animation and TV production sector - a close up
Katherine McQueen, joint managing director of A Productions, said: “This win is testament to the hard work and creativity of everyone involved in this fun-filled, heart-warming animated special and it’s fantastic to see this recognised – congratulations, all!”
Other winners included Wildseed Studios, whose Netflix show The Last Bus fended off competition from fellow Bristol studio Aardman - the creators of Wallace and Gromit - to take home the children's category prize.
Wildseed, which was acquired by French media giant Mediawan earlier this year, is also behind animated series Dodo , which has appeared on major networks and streaming platforms such as Sky Kids, CITV, Cartoon Network and HBO Max. Posting on social media, the company’s managing director Miles Bullough celebrated the win, saying it had made the event “all the more enjoyable”.
Yes! Great event, made all the more enjoyable by Wildseed picking up Best Childrens Award for The Lasr Bus! https://t.co/iwXtV083EG
— Miles Bullough (@milesbullough)
The awards, held at the Bristol Old Vic theatre on Sunday (April 23), were attended by actors including Gamba Cole, Rhianne Barreto and Jessica Gunning, who star in Stephen Merchant’s BBC comedy thriller The Outlaws, set in Bristol. The show won two awards for its second series, in the scripted category and for director John Butler.
Production of The Outlaws, currently filming its third series in Bristol, and The Last Bus , were hosted and assisted by the city's Bottle Yard Studios, which completed a £13.5m expansion last year - hoping to create more than 1,000 jobs over the next 10 years.
Film and television production in Bristol generated more than £20m for the local economy, according to figures published by Bristol Film Office last September - the largest contribution that filming-related activity has made towards the city’s economy in a decade.
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