Grandpa in My Pocket

Grandpa in My Pocket
Created by Mellie Buse and Jan Page
Developed by Mellie Buse and Jan Page
Written by Mellie Buse and Jan Page
Directed by Richard Bradley, Martin Franks and Ian McClean
Starring James Bolam
Jay Ruckley
Josie Cable
Zara Ramm
Sam Ellis
Harvey Thorn
Sezen Djouma
Theme music composer Kate Edgar
Composer(s) Matt Dilley
Country of origin United Kingdom
Original language(s) English
No. of series 5
No. of episodes 52 (series 1)
26 (series 4)
26 (series 5) (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s) Series 1-5 Mellie Buse, Jan Page for Adastra. Series 1-3 Angus Fletcher for Adastra, Sarah Colcluffe for the BBC.Series 1-5 Michael Towner for the BBC.
Producer(s) BBC
Location(s) Location footage Suffolk and Norfolk. Studio - Enfys, Cardiff, South Wales.
Running time 12 minutes
Production company(s) Adastra Creative Ltd.
Distributor DHX Media
Broadcast
Original channel CBeebies
Picture format HD 16:9
Audio format Full Broadcast
Original airing

7 February 1999

11 May 2006
External links
Official website

Grandpa in My Pocket is a comedy drama series commissioned by Michael Carrington for CBeebies, the BBC's dedicated pre-school and nursery channel targeting children aged 1–6 years. The programme stars James Bolam as Grandpa, who owns a magical Shrinking Cap, which initially only his grandson Jason (played by Jay Ruckley) knows about. The cap enables him to shrink to about 4 or 5 inches tall, run very fast, and bring objects to life. This allows him to experience many magical adventures which are told via voice-over narration by Jason, including finding a hamster under the floorboards, bringing a home-made robot to life, and driving Jason's toy car and biplane. The programme also stars Josie Cable, Zara Ramm and Sam Ellis. According to the BBC press office, "Grandpa In My Pocket explores the hugely important relationship between grandchildren and grandparents by turning it on its head".[1]

Following the success of the first series, a second was commissioned in March 2009, with a third filmed in 2010. A fourth series was produced in 2013 with broadcast beginning in 2014. For the fourth series, Jason, who is now a teenager, has moved with his family into a windmill which they have opened as a hotel. Jason's younger cousins Josh and Elsie (played by Harvey Thorn and Sezen Djouma) have come to stay for the summer, and the two become the series narrators as Grandpa decides to let them in on the secret of the Shrinking Cap.[2]

Production

The first three series of the show was set in the fictional location called "Sunnysands". The exterior scenes were filmed on location in the towns of Southwold and Aldeburgh, in Suffolk. The Masons' house was in Crabbe Street, Aldeburgh. The pier and the lighthouse were in Southwold. The bike and other shops were in Walberswick.

The Mason's windmill for the fourth series is Cley Windmill, located in Cley next the Sea in Norfolk.

A similar idea was used in The Dandy comic in the 1970s comic adventure strip Peter's Pocket Grandpa, which was based on an earlier prose text story called Jimmie's Pocket Grandpa which had appeared in The Dandy in the 1940s. This was parodied in the adult satirical comic, Viz, with its strip entitled Mickey's Miniature Grandpa, who only thought he could shrink, but lacked the actual ability.

Characters

The Family

Series 1-3

Series 4 and 5

Episodes

  1. "Captain Dumbletwit's Toughest Mission Yet!" [February 23, 2001]
  2. "Mr Mentor's Custard Puff Plopper" [February 24, 2001]
  3. "No Two Rings the Same" [February 28, 2001]
  4. "A Carrot Called Christopher and Other Odd Vegetables" [February 31, 2001]
  5. "Taking Floyd for a Ride" [March 1, 2001]
  6. "Trying to Play with Shy Shanay" [March 2, 2001]
  7. "A Day for a Play at Miss Smiley's Café" [March 3, 2001]
  8. "Jemima's New Best Friend" [March 4, 2001]
  9. "Bubbles and Squeak" [March 5, 2001]
  10. "No More Dolls for Dora" [March 6, 2001]
  11. "A Very Needy Speedy Edie" [March 7, 2001]
  12. "Making the Most of Max" [March 8, 2001]
  13. "Miss Smiley's Strawberry Surprise" [March 15, 2001]
  14. "In It to Win It!" [March 20, 2001]
  15. "Horatio Heave Ho!" [March 26, 2001]
  16. "Great Aunt Loretta's Not-So-Great Plan" [October 1, 2001]
  17. "Mr Whoops' Toy of the Week" [October 2, 2001]
  18. "The Perfect Little Litter Picker" [October 3, 2001]
  19. "Big Elf, Little Elf" [October 4, 2001]
  20. "A Song for Miss Smiley" [October 5, 2001]
  21. "Mr Scoffbucket the Goat" [October 6, 2001]
  22. "Miss Smiley's Dancing Tea" [October 7, 2001]
  23. "A Sunnysands Tick Tock Shock" [October 8, 2001]
  24. "Wulfy's Day with Mr Whoops" [October 9, 2001]
  25. "Captain Shipshape and a Fish Called Bryan" [October 19, 2001]
  26. "Grandpa's Greatest Escape Ever" [October 20, 2001]
  27. "Mr Mentor's Spangly Jangly Dangle Dish" [January 2, 2002]
  28. "Poorly Pansy Petunia" [January 3, 2002]
  29. "Mr Yomper Stomper's Donkey Day" [January 4, 2002]
  30. "Wanda Whoops' World of Whooo!" [January 5, 2002]
  31. "The Balderdashes on Bob's Boat" [January 6, 2002]
  32. "One Man's Junk Is Another Man's Treasure" [January 7, 2002]
  33. "Don't Blame Wulfy" [January 11, 2002]
  34. "Mr Mentor's Whizzywoodlesome Whirly Windwhooper" [January 12, 2002]
  35. "The Mystery of the Missing Millions" [January 19, 2002]
  36. "Cheery Charlie Cheekster's Big Return" [January 20, 2002]
  37. "Mrs Pufferbang's Balloony Beach Bonanza" [January 21, 2002]
  38. "Bertie Beep and His Talking Sheep" [January 29, 2002]
  39. "A Sunnysands Shelter for Bella La Belter" [January 30, 2002]
  40. "A Robodoggy for Miss Snip" [April 2, 2002]
  41. "The Brillioso Beach Treat" [April 3, 2002]
  42. "Great Aunt Loretta on Duty" [April 4, 2002]
  43. "Mighty Mike and a Bear on a Hike" [April 5, 2002]
  44. "Great Aunt Loretta's Dream Date" [April 6, 2002]
  45. "Whizzy William" [April 7, 2002]
  46. "Shiny Gold Stars" [April 8, 2002]
  47. "Captain Dumbletwit's Dress-Up Party" [April 9, 2002]
  48. "In a Muddle with Miss Muddleton" [April 23, 2002]
  49. "A Day for a Piratey Adventure" [November 1, 2002]
  50. "The Magic of the Mill on the Marsh" [November 15, 2002]
  51. "A Passion for Fashion" [December 12, 2002]
  52. "A Dinosaur Called Damian" [January 4, 2003].

Awards and nominations

  • Nominated for Best Pre-School Live Action[3]
  • Winner - Best Children's Programme

DVD releases

References

  1. ↑ "Family, friends and musical fun on CBeebies". BBC. 8 August 2007. Retrieved 16 February 2009.
  2. ↑ "James Bolam returns in new series of Grandpa In My Pocket on CBeebies". BBC. 1 January 2014. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
  3. ↑ "British Academy Children's Awards". British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Retrieved 12 January 2014.

External links