Tag Archives: BBC Studios

Princess Anne unveils hand-knitted Doctor Who clothing range from UK luxury brand Corgi

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In a second helping of Doctor Who news, it’s the luxury brand Corgi that has climbed aboard the TARDIS, having partnered with BBC Studios to launch the range of Doctor Who knitwear worn by Jodie Whittaker’s Thirteenth Doctor in the latest series of the sci-fi soap opera.

Corgi’s Doctor Who range will include 100 per cent cashmere socks, wool socks, a cashmere scarf, a wool scarf and a hand-made cashmere and cotton blend jumper, all of which will be from yarns sustainably sourced from UK suppliers.

The knitwear, Corgi has stated, is made using traditional hand knitting techniques and hand finished to the “very highest standard”. All the products are made in the UK at Corgi’s factory in Ammanford, Wales.

 The range was designed by costume designer Ray Holman (Doctor Who, Torchwood) for the Thirteenth Doctor’s costume and is now available to fans across the world for the first time.

 Holman said: “I chose to work with Corgi after visiting the factory and seeing the high quality materials they use and the beautiful products they create. As a small company in the heart of Wales the craft of knitting is still very much alive and we were able to use these skills in the creation of the jumpers, socks and scarves for this range. It has been a pleasure to work with Corgi and create such a wonderful range of garments for The Doctor.”

 Corgi is a Welsh, family-run company producing luxury socks and knitwear. Established in 1892, the company is still located in a small Welsh mining town and has developed a reputation as a leading luxury sock and knitwear brand.

The company was awarded a Royal Warrant by HRH the Prince of Wales in 1988, and continues to supply the Royal family with knitted goods. The launch of the range coincides with a royal visit at the Corgi factory in Wales, with Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal arriving to meet staff in her capacity as President of the UK Fashion & Textile industry.

Princess Anne was shown the new Doctor Who range as part of this visit, and presented with a cashmere Doctor Who scarf as a gift.

 Chris Jones at Corgi, added: “We’re very excited to be working with BBC Studios on a product range for Doctor Who. Working with the creative team, we have produced a beautiful line of distinctive knitwear and socks that deliver both style and high quality that we hope fans will love.”

BBC Studios and Escape Hunt launch new Doctor Who Escape Room, Doctor Who: A Dalek Awakens

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BBC Studios has formed a new partnership with Escape Hunt to develop and launch a new Doctor Who escape room called Doctor Who: A Dalek Awakens.

The newest game can be booked from today at Escape Hunt Reading and Birmingham Resorts World with several other venues, including Norwich and Basingstoke, opening throughout 2020.

Players will step on board a doomed spaceship, invaded by the fearsome Dalek. This age-old enemy has tapped into the ship’s power system and is preparing for a path of ruthless extermination, the only way for teams to stop the Dalek, is to shut down the ship’s power.

But by shutting down the power, players will also shut down the ship’s life support system, risking the lives of all 10,000 passengers and crew on board.

Teams of up to six are given 60 minutes to solve the puzzles, resolve this impossible situation and prevent catastrophe before the time runs out and extermination is guaranteed for all.

Richard Harpham, CEO Escape Hunt PLC, said: “We are delighted to be creating a second game, Doctor Who: A Dalek Awakens, with BBC Studios following the success of our first game with them, Doctor Who: World’s Collide.

“Doctor Who has a loyal and dedicated fanbase which we have seen from the success of our first game, so to be able to bring some variety to the public with a brand new and innovative game centred around the iconic Dalek characters is an exciting prospect for Escape Hunt.

 “We look forward to bringing the new game to life at Escape Hunt venues across the UK.”

Doctor Who: A Dalek Awakens is playable at Escape Hunt Reading from March 9th and at Birmingham Resorts World from March 11th, while fans in Norwich and Basingstoke can sign up to hear when the immersive adventure is available to book in their cities.

BBC Studios taps Step Inside Productions to launch first CBeebies-themed experiential pop-up tour for kids

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BBC Studios has tapped the London-based experiential production company, Step Inside Productions, to develop and manage the first CBeebies-themed interactive pop-up experience for children.

The CBeebies Rainbow Adventure has been designed for children under the age of six and their parents, families, or carers, delivering a transportable, inflatable CBeebies-themed structure spanning 350 square meters.

It contains an array of immersive activities based on CBeebies favourites, including Hey Duggee, Something Special, Sarah & Duck, Go Jetters, and Andy’s Dinosaur Adventures.

CBeebies Rainbow Adventure launches its year-round tour of the UK in April 2020, debuting at Ealing Common, before moving on to Brent Cross, Hull, Ipswich, Richmond, and York. Further UK locations will be announced in due course.

Step Inside Productions is part of Theseus Agency, which consults to clients in entertainment and media to develop new products, brands and business strategies and to source and execute commercial deals.

The company specialises in designing, producing, licensing and operating experiential entertainment formats and combines the vision and extensive experience in entertainment business, rights and design of its partners – Dan Marks, Victoria Molony and Samantha Hardingham – to develop and operate new experiential formats.

Dan Marks was the deputy managing director of British Telecom’s consumer division and CEO of BT TV. He has also held senior executive positions at Universal Studios Networks Worldwide, ProSiebenSat1 and TV3 Russia.

A best-selling author and experienced architectural designer, Samantha Hardingham has curated exhibitions in the UK and Europe. She led on the design of the CBeebies Rainbow Adventure.

Victoria Molony is a qualified lawyer and experienced business affairs adviser specialising in media, entertainment and telecoms. She has advised a range of clients including international broadcasters, Premier League football clubs and J.K. Rowling’s Pottermore on licensing, exploitation and distribution matters.

Marks said: “We’re incredibly excited to be launching CBeebies Rainbow Adventure into the experiential market. The rich insights and cross-sector experience that the partners bring have enabled us to take a truly holistic approach to the creation of new entertainment experiences.”

Mat Way, global director, live entertainment, at BBC Studios, added: “We are thrilled to be working with Step Inside Productions on the first ever CBeebies interactive pop-up experience. CBeebies Rainbow Adventure is an innovative, inspiring and fun way of bringing CBeebies branded activities to the UK regions.”

BBC Studios taps France TV Distribution to manage Hey Duggee licensing programme across the region

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BBC Studios has turned to France TV Distribution to manage the licensing programme for Hey Duggee – or Hé, Oua-Oua in French – across the region.

The news comes as Europe’s largest toy fair, Nuremberg’s Spielwarenmesse prepares to get underway this week. The deal marks the first time Hey Duggee merchandise will be available to consumers in France and it will begin its roll-out this year.

France TV Distribution joins a raft of global licensees for Hey Duggee, including Golden Bear as the IP’s master toy partner for toys and plush, Ravensburger for puzzels and games, 8th Wonder for wooden toys, and Trends UK for electronic learning.

In addition, Jazwares is the master toy partner in the US and Jasnor will distribute both Golden Bear’s and Jazwares’ toys in Australia.

Devised by Studio AKA, the multiple BAFTA and Emmy award-winning preschool series Hey Duggee has an impressive global footprint in over 150 territories. In France, Hey Duggee broadcasts on France 5 and France 4.

Meanwhile in the UK, Hey Duggee consistently ranks as one of the top three programmes on CBeebies and has reached over 1.9 billion minutes of YouTube watch time.

BBC Studios renews plush partnership with Posh Paws for BBC Earth

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BBC Studios and Posh Paws International have renewed their current partnership to continue to develop and distribute plush products under the BBC Earth license.

The deal brokered by European Licensing Agent WildBrain CPLG, will be effective in the UK, EMEA, Australia, and New Zealand from January 2020.

After the successful launch of the BBC Earth inspired toy plush range in 2019, Posh Paws will be adding a new range of soft baby animals to the collection, including a giraffe, penguin, seal pup, lion cub, baby leopard and a baby monkey. All will be available for spring 2020 from all good retailers.   

An eco-conscious new collection, the new range will include 100 pr cent recycled post-consumer waste PET plastic (plastic bottles) filling to demonstrate a commitment to the environment, along with packaging made from 100 per cent recycled FSC certified craft paper and soy-based inks.

Each plush comes  with a Love me for Life swing tag and statement highlighting that each toy is not a throwaway purchase and encourages consumers to ‘love them for life or pass on to someone else who will care for them just as much.’

“The development team at Posh Paws International is aware of how important environmental issues are,” said Lauren Shipman, group marketing director. “The addition of this new BBC Earth product range is just a first step on our journey to make more sustainable and environmentally friendly soft toys.”

Julie Kekwick, senior licensing manager at BBC Studios, added: “We are pleased to continue our partnership with Posh Paws and are looking forward to rolling out further toys inspired by the BBC Earth brand.”

BBC Studios renews plush partnership with Posh Paws for BBC Earth

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BBC Studios and Posh Paws International have renewed their current partnership to continue to develop and distribute plush products under the BBC Earth license.

The deal brokered by European Licensing Agent WildBrain CPLG, will be effective in the UK, EMEA, Australia, and New Zealand from January 2020.

After the successful launch of the BBC Earth inspired toy plush range in 2019, Posh Paws will be adding a new range of soft baby animals to the collection, including a giraffe, penguin, seal pup, lion cub, baby leopard and a baby monkey. All will be available for spring 2020 from all good retailers.   

An eco-conscious new collection, the new range will include 100 pr cent recycled post-consumer waste PET plastic (plastic bottles) filling to demonstrate a commitment to the environment, along with packaging made from 100 per cent recycled FSC certified craft paper and soy-based inks.

Each plush comes  with a Love me for Life swing tag and statement highlighting that each toy is not a throwaway purchase and encourages consumers to ‘love them for life or pass on to someone else who will care for them just as much.’

“The development team at Posh Paws International is aware of how important environmental issues are,” said Lauren Shipman, group marketing director. “The addition of this new BBC Earth product range is just a first step on our journey to make more sustainable and environmentally friendly soft toys.”

Julie Kekwick, senior licensing manager at BBC Studios, added: “We are pleased to continue our partnership with Posh Paws and are looking forward to rolling out further toys inspired by the BBC Earth brand.”

BBC Studios and Forbidden Planet celebrate Doctor Who with exclusive t-shirt partnership

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BBC Studios and Forbidden Planet have devised an initiative to release a new and exclusive line of Doctor Who T-shirts throughout the current twelfth series of the popular sci-fi TV show. The newest season started airing on January 1s this year.

A range of 10 Doctor Who T-shirts will launch during the new series, themed around each week’s episode, with each being available to pre-order at ForbiddenPlanet.com the morning after transmission.

Kicking off the new series, Doctor Who returned to BBC One on January 1st for a New Year’s Day special named Spyfall, with subsequent episodes broadcasting every Sunday. The series sees Jodie Whittaker continue her role as the Thirteenth Doctor, as she resumes her travels through time and space with friends Ryan (Tosin Cole), Yaz (Mandip Gill), and Graham (Bradley Walsh).

Anita Majhu, senior licensing manager at BBC Studios, said: “This is such an exciting line and we’re thrilled to be offering Doctor Who fans the opportunity to be a part of the new series in this way.”

Anthony Garnon, licensing and special projects manager, Forbidden Planet, added: “Months of behind the scenes planning and co-ordination, this is Doctor Who merchandising on a whole new level. Don’t just watch the episode, live it with Forbidden Planet.”

T-shirts will be available to pre-order online at ForbiddenPlanet.com and will be priced at £15.99.