Grandpappa reminisces…

The Storyworld sequences were filmed in Spain between Malaga and Tarifa, in temperatures of up to 104°F...

...or not!

Why was Storyworld shot in Spain? It had nothing to do with Paëlla or snorkeling opportunities for the crew.

We needed to shoot 104 stories in a year-and-a-half and it took a day-and-a-half to shoot each episode. ‘Storyworld’ is a happy sunny place. We worked 12 hours a day for 3 weeks at a time, and England just does not have that many sunny days in a year.

So we were looking for a sunny storybook look and the quality of the light and simple backgrounds such as sand dunes were perfect...

...the only trouble is that sand dunes are of course made by wind!

Also they can be a long way from the nearest parking lot, but we found a solution to this problem...

The Storyworld stories are deceptively simple and use a range of everyday objects, all of which need to be recognizable but are exaggerated in some way. So Storyworld is full of very large socks, very bouncy balls and very squeaky see-saws.

The design team had their work cut out. They had huge props to move about and get working in remote locations. It took a day to build these giant orange trees and this sketch was canceled three times due to high winds!

The crew all became experts in the different types of sand. The camera sinks in coarse sand, but fine sand gets inside our equipment and wrecks it.

And we have probably swept more beaches than anyone.

The crew averaged 25 people, some of whom were Spanish, which gave the shoot an international flavor.

This was great for an international program like Boohbah and we became a close-knit working community with a excellent team spirit working together against the odds… winds, herds of goats, sandstorms and even a giant inflatable banana being towed behind a speed boat through our shot. But nothing could stop us.



"Little Dog Fido" is a stage name; his real name is Dash. As in the program Little Dog Fido was prone to do unexpected things. The crew was banned from eating on the set because Little Dog Fido would stop whatever he was doing and go to explore any possible source of food. He also became very territorial about "his" beach and would chase away any other dog who dared to venture onto the set.

Filming with a dog added time to the shoot, but when performing with one as cute as that we knew we stood no chance - we were upstaged every time.

For the snowy episodes of Storyworld, Switzerland was considered as a location, but, because of the combination of extreme cold and a very short shooting day, it was rejected. So in the middle of a rare British heat wave these actors are wearing thermals!

We used artificial snow made from finely shredded (biodegradable) paper mixed with water. This basically made papier-mâché which took some time to get off in the shower!

Our style of performance was developed to help children watching to feel included in the action. There is a big difference between just watching a story unfold and feeling as if you are actually there, thinking things through for yourself.

It took us a long time to be comfortable looking to the camera all the time thus allowing the audience to feel they were directing our actions. It was of course great having no lines to learn, but getting a story over in pure movement in not easy.

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