News from the actor & voice artist best known for voicing 10 characters in Aardman’s Oscar, Golden Globe & BAFTA nominated ‘Shaun the Sheep Movie’ also playing Hector the Llama in the 2015 Christmas Special INTERNATIONAL EMMY AWARD WINNING ‘Shaun the Sheep: The Farmer’s Llamas’. He plays Ambridge Fire-Starter - Keith Horrobin in ‘The Archers’ and in the audio world of ‘Doctor Who’ he has played a Sontaran! He also voices EZRA in the CBeebies hit animation 'JoJo & Gran Gran'.
I bring you some warm and cosy 'JOJO & GRAN GRAN' related news ... TOMORROW SATURDAY 5th DECEMBER @ 8.40am on the CBEEBIES CHANNEL comes the CHRISTMAS SPECIAL from the ENORMOUSLY POPULAR HIT SHOW - featuring your truly as EZRA (well I say 'featuring' ... he's there when it matters!). If you've been watching the series you'll know that they will DO CHRISTMAS 'just right'!! If 8.30am is a little early for you on Saturday, never fear it'll be available on the BBC's iPLAYER after first transmission ... It'll be a real FESTIVE TREAT - DON'T MISS IT!!
As it happens TODAY FRIDAY 4th DECEMBER @ 5.25pm 'LIVE' on the CBEEBIES CHANNEL a lovely episode called 'IT'S TIME TO PLAY FOOTBALL' is on, check it out if you'd like!! EZRA is a pretty good dribbler!!
Take care everyone and a slightly early MERRY CHRISTMAS to you all!!
'SCRIPT SIREN'SPRESENTS: SIREN SCREAMS' was supported by the Arts Council ...
Script Sirens are a powerful collective of diverse female and non-binary scriptwriters based in the West Midlands. For more information about the exciting work that they're doing here's their website: https://scriptsirens.wordpress.com/
Head on over to Acast to have a listen ... IF YOU DARE!!
Really thrilled to let you all know that the NEW 'AUTUMN' EPISODES of the CBEEBIES hit animated series 'JOJO & GRAN GRAN' starts next MONDAY the 19th OCTOBER 2020 at 5.25PM ... Episodes will be available to view on the BBC's iPLAYER after first transmission, in fact the FIRST TWO SEASONS; 'SPRING' and 'SUMMER' are also available to stream, also via the BBC iPLAYER.
My character EZRA (below) will feature in TWO MORE EPISODES during this season, firstly on NEXT THURSDAY 22nd OCTOBER in 'IT'S TIME TO PLAY FOOTBALL' -(JoJo meets Ezra’s grandson Jaxon and they join Jared, Cynthia, Ezra and Terrence for a football match in the park, with Gran Gran as the referee.) and a PRE-HALLOWEEN episode called 'IT'S TIME FOR A TREASURE HUNT' (guess what might happen here??!!) on FRIDAY 30th OCTOBER ...Incidentally this second episode was recorded in LOCKDOWN using my HOME STUDIO!!
Gran Gran is voiced by Cathy Tyson, JoJo by Taiya Samuel; Great Gran Gran by Llewella Gideon; Jared, who works in the local shop, by Ashley Joseph; and Gran Gran’s friendly neighbour Cynthia by Teresa Gallagher.
The series is created for Television by BBC Children’s In-House Production and is based on the 'JOJO & GRAN GRAN' characters created by LAURA HENRY-ALLAIN ...
So proud to finally be able to announce my involvement in the tremendously exciting new adapatation of the JULES VERNE classic adventure '20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA' for AUDIBLE ...
I've loved the 1954 Disney film starring JAMES MASON since I was a nipper (not the first time around I hasten to add!!) so it was a great thrill to lend my tonsils for the greatly enjoyable cameo of (MASON) in EPISODE ONE of this EPIC FIVE-PART ADVENTURE. Even more of a thrill is that it became my very first FULL CAST AUDIO DRAMA for AUDIBLE, although I do feature quite alot on other AUDIOS on the platform ...
There's a VERY STARRY CAST (in alphabetical order) ... Gary Andrews, Michael Brandon, Sean Connolly, Barnaby Eaton-Jones, Adrian Lester, Clive Mantle, Carla Mendonca, Terry Molloy, Ben Perkins, Montserrat Roig, Andrew James Spooner. Produced and directed by Barnaby Eaton-Jones. Sound design by Joseph Fox. Original score by Abigail Fox. Adapted by Tony Lee.
It was also such a positive thing to do in the current pandemic, as it also became my second REMOTE RECORDING PROJECT from my HOME STUDIO ... It really was a quite extraordinary thing to do, all of the actors recording remotely from their homes, then piecing it all together in post production. Serious HATS OFF to SOUND DESIGNER JOSEPH FOX in particular and PRODUCER and DIRECTOR BARNABY EATON-JONES ...
Here's a direct link to AUDIBLE to purchase this amazing example of overcoming adversity ... ENJOY!! https://adbl.co/2EcGpuO
You might remember back in MARCH 'before' LOCKDOWN this wonderful CBEEBIES SERIES inspired by books written by LAURA HENRY-ALLAIN and created by BBC Childrens premiered on our screens. At the time my character EZRA didn't feature in this first batch of episodes ... I'm more than delighted to say that 'EZRA' makes his first appearance in the series NEXT TUESDAY 21st JULY @5.25pm on CBEEBIESand then after on the BBC iPlayer. The episode is entitled 'It's Time to Find a Dinosaur' and before anyone says it - I am NOT said 'dinosaur'!!! It's a LANDMARK SERIES as it's the first animation on CBEEBIES to focus on a black British family, concentrating on the special bond between children and their grandparents ... If you didn't catch SERIES ONE set in SPRING then it's still available on the iPLAYER - IT'S REALLY BEAUTIFLLY ANIMATED & ALL THEVOICE ACTING (Gran Gran is voiced by Cathy Tyson, JoJo by Taiya Samuel; Great Gran Gran by Llewella Gideon; Jared, who works in the local shop, by Ashley Joseph; and Gran Gran’s friendly neighbour Cynthia by Teresa Gallagher) is SECOND TO NONE!! Of course it also features the obligatory CATCHY THEME TUNE!!
Looking forward to later in the year,EZRA appears in a couple more episodes in the AUTUMN BATCH and then the CHRISTMAS SPECIAL, I'll keep everyone updated on those nearer the time. It was great fun recording EZRA for the series, really can't wait to officially join the cast and see his FIRST EPISODE on TUES 20th JULY and of course the rest of the series too!
I can now reveal the project I was working on PRE-LOCKDOWN is now AVAILABLE TO PRE-ORDERhere ... The novel, written by the amazing DARIUS HINKS based on the 'WARHAMMER QUEST: BLACKSTONE FORTRESS' game from GAMES WORKSHOP now has an AUDIO BOOK and I had the great honour to be asked to be it's NARRATOR.
It's a real roller-coaster ride of a story (my first FULL LENGTH AUDIO BOOK for Games Workshop) and I had an absolute blast recording it! ... There was OVER 30 CHARACTERS to voice (PHEW!) so it certainly was a MARATHON but a hugely enjoyable one. Some of the characters I already knew from doing a FULL CAST AUDIO DRAMA called 'THE BEAST INSIDE' (below) last year, also based on the game where I played the lead role of the moustached and monocled Rogue Trader JANUS DRAIK ...
You can DOWNLOAD it via BLACK LIBRARY from MAY 30TH, it will also be available to grab from AUDIBLE, AMAZON KINDLE and APPLE BOOKS ... the RUNNING TIME is FIVE MINUES SHY OF 10 HOURS at 9 HOURS 55 MINUTES ... More news after it's official release ...
Up N Under by John Godber. Performed by The Little English Theatre at Redditch Palace Theatre 2018 from Stephan Bessant on Vimeo. The NATIONAL THEATRE are showing some GREAT STUFF on You Tube at the moment ... but I have some EXCITING NEWS!!! The 2018 production of JOHN GODBER'S classic rugby play 'UP N UNDER' performed by THE LITTLE ENGLISH THEATRE COMPANY at the Palace Theatre Redditch is AVAILABLEon VIMEO for ONE WEEK ONLY as a very special LOCKDOWN SHOWING!! MASSIVE THANKS must go to writer JOHN GODBER for giving his permission to show it over the next week ... I can't quite believe IT'S ALMOST EXACTLY TWO YEARS AGO! I had such a ball (sorry!) acting with my mates on stage - what memories - what a privilege! Here's the DIRECT LINK to VIMEOhttps://vimeo.com/405435368 If you are VERY CLEVER you can DOWNLOAD the VIMEO APP on to your SMART TV if you have one and WATCH IT ON YOUR TELLY!!!
Remember it's ONLY ON FOR A WEEK STARTING LAST NIGHT 8th APRIL 2020 ....
PLEASE DO SHARE THIS LINK - IT'S A CRACKING SPORTING UNDERDOG STORY - OH AND IT'S FUNNY!!
Cast List:
(In order of appearance)
Hazel Scott (Becky Neale) Arthur Hoyle (Sean Connolly) Reg Welsh (Paul Lumsden) Tony Burtoft (Nathan Blyth) Frank Rowley (Greg Hobbs) Phil Hopley (Stephan Bessant) Steve Edwards (Laurence Saunders) Match Announcer (Paul Lumsden)
Directed & produced (Stephan Bessant) Directors assistant (Paul Lumsden) Match choreography (Ben Roddy)
'JoJo & Gran Gran'starts on CBeebies on Monday 16th March 2020 ...
I am over the moon to announce my involvement in the BRAND NEW ANIMATED SERIES from CBEEBIES - 'JOJO & GRAN GRAN' which will starts airing TODAY - MONDAY 16th MARCH at 5.30pm-5.40pm on the CBEEBIES TV CHANNEL and streaming on the BBC iPLAYER ...
Courtesy of the BBC MEDIA CENTRE; "JoJo & Gran Gran is based on characters created by LAURA HENRY-ALLAIN and the look of the series was defined by award-winning
illustrator LEO ESPINOSA. Within each animated episode, there is a live action moment
which features children talking about the themes covered." (continued below ...)
Gran Gran is voiced by Cathy Tyson, JoJo by Taiya Samuel;
Great Gran Gran by Llewella Gideon; Jared, who works in the local shop, by
Ashley Joseph; and Gran Gran’s friendly neighbour Cynthia by Teresa Gallagher oh ... and I play EZRA (a friend of Gran Gran's)! - however I'm afraid you'll have to wait until the SUMMER to hear my dulcet tones!! Watch the series anyway - it's going be REALLY SPECIAL!!
Here's an overview of the first 11 EPISODES of 44 set against the background of SPRING ...
As we go through the year, the next 11 episodes will be aired in the SUMMER, followed by the another 11 episodes in the AUTUMN and the final 11 in the WINTER .. you might have guessed one of the themes with the series, yes IT'S THE SEASONS!!
A little more about the series again from the BBC's MEDIA CENTRE; "They live close by to one another in a bustling London
neighbourhood and Gran Gran always has something planned to do when JoJo comes
to visit.
Throughout the series, the stories are inspired by the
passing of time, covering topics such as life cycles, the passing of the
seasons, growth or the sequencing involved in activities like baking a cake or
catching a bus.
JoJo adores her grandma and the time they spend together.
Gran Gran is very proud of her Saint Lucian heritage and is always happy when
she has an opportunity to teach JoJo about the island’s culture."
I've had the great fortune to have appeared in TWO MIDLAND'S MADE BBC telly shows either side of Christmas .. firstly just before Christmas I was delighted to return to 'DOCTORS' and last week I popped up on the hugely popular afternoon crime drama 'SHAKESPEARE & HATHAWAY - PRIVATE INVESTIGATORS' ...
Firstly and rather belatedly my 'DOCTORS' episode 'HE WATCHES' was a pre-Christmas story, tying up a long storyline but also introducing my good self as Villa fan and pub landlord MARK ELWOOD who appears to be at the centre of a on-line conspiracy theory - here's the direct link to the episode on the BBC's iPLAYERhttps://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000c6nl/doctors-series-21-27-he-watches(it's available for a year!) and few stills from the episode, no spoilers from me, have a watch ... director was NIALL FRASER.
Secondly and rather more recently was my dramatic cameo appearance in the second episode 'SEE THYSELF, DEVIL!' of SEASON 3 of 'SHAKESPEARE & HATHAWAY - PRIVATE INVESTGATORS' starring JOY JOYNER and MARK BENTON ... I play EARL ALBANY,ex-lead guitarist turned vicar of legendary heavy rock band 'CALIBAN'S CLAW' ... Back in their heyday the members of the band all signed a 'deal' with the devil in blood for success, as the lead singer (played by DAVID SCHOFIELD) plans a comeback it seems that the devil is back to call in that debt!!
Here again is the direct link to the episode on the BBC's iPLAYER
(OH ... IF YOU READ TO THE END OF THIS BLOGPOST, YOU'LL SEE AN EXCLUSIVE BAND PIC!)
It was great fun on the shoot ... you might recognise my church as The Collegiate Church of St Mary in lovely Warwick ... What a privilege it was to work in such beautiful surroundings. It was also lovely to reaquaint with JO JOYNER after quite a hiatus ... we'd last worked together on the CHANNEL 4 series 'NO ANGELS' back in 2005(ish!) ...
HERE'S THAT PIC!!!
CALIBAN'S CLAW at the height of their success, Earl is on the left!!!
