Grandpa in My Pocket explained

Genre:Children's
Comedy-drama
Educational
Fantasy
Creator:Mellie Buse and Jan Page
Developer:Mellie Buse and Jan Page
Director:Richard Bradley, Martin Franks and Iain McLean
Starring:James Bolam
Jay Ruckley
Josie Cable
Zara Ramm
Sam Ellis
Harvey Thorn
Sezen Djouma
Narrator:Jay Ruckley
Harvey Thorn
Sezen Djouma
Theme Music Composer:Kate Edgar
Composer:Matt Dilley
Country:United Kingdom
Language:English
Num Series:4
Num Episodes:118
List Episodes:
  1. Episodes
Executive Producer:Sarah Colclough (BBC)
Angus Fletcher (Adastra)
Michael Towner (CBeebies)
Producer:Mellie Buse
Jan Page
Runtime:12 minutes
Company:Adastra Creative Ltd.[1]
Channel:CBeebies[2]

Grandpa in My Pocket is a British children's comedy-drama television series created by Mellie Buse and Jan Page and commissioned by Michael Carrington for CBeebies, the BBC's dedicated pre-school and nursery channel targeting children aged 2–7 years.

Based on the 1970s The Dandy comic adventure strip Peter's Pocket Grandpa by Ron Spencer (which itself was based on an earlier prose text story called Jimmie's Pocket Grandpa which had appeared in The Dandy in the 1940s), the programme stars James Bolam as a grandfather who owns a magical "shrinking cap", which only his 10-year-old grandson Jason Mason (played by Jay Ruckley) knows about. This cap enables him to shrink to about 4 inches tall, become a CGI-animated character, run very fast, and bring toys and objects to life. This allows him to experience many adventures which are narrated by Jason, including finding a prisoner 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, as Jason's sister, mother and father, respectively. 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".

Following the success of the first series in April 2009, a second was commissioned in March 2010, with a third filmed in 2011. After the third season, the series was assumed to have ended, but two years later, a fourth season went into production, and began broadcast in 2014.

The fourth season introduces some changes to the plot. Jason, who is now a teenager, has moved with his family into a windmill which they have opened as a hotel. Jason and Jemima'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.[3]

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

Cast

Main cast

Additional cast

Characters

The Family

Series 1–3

Series 4

Episodes

Series 2 (2010)

  1. "Captain Dumbletwit's Toughest Mission Yet!" (15 February 2010)
  2. "Mr Mentor's Custard Puff Plopper" (16 February 2010)
  3. "No Two Rings the Same" (17 February 2010)
  4. "A Carrot Called Christopher and Other Odd Vegetables" (18 February 2010)
  5. "Taking Floyd for a Ride" (19 February 2010)
  6. "Trying to Play with Shy Shanay" (22 February 2010)
  7. "A Day for a Play at Miss Smiley's Café" (23 February 2010)
  8. "Jemima's New Best Friend" (24 February 2010)
  9. "Bubbles and Squeak" (25 February 2010)
  10. "No More Dolls for Dora" (26 February 2010)
  11. "A Very Needy Speedy Edie" (1 March 2010)
  12. "Making the Most of Max" (2 March 2010)
  13. "Miss Smiley's Strawberry Surprise" (3 March 2010)
  14. "In It to Win It!" (4 March 2010)
  15. "Horatio Heave Ho!" (5 March 2010)
  16. "Great Aunt Loretta's Not-So-Great Plan" (8 March 2010)
  17. "Mr Whoops' Toy of the Week" (9 March 2010)
  18. "The Perfect Little Litter Picker" (10 March 2010)
  19. "Big Elf, Little Elf" (11 March 2010)
  20. "A Song for Miss Smiley" (12 March 2010)
  21. "Mr Scoffbucket the Goat" (15 March 2010)
  22. "Miss Smiley's Dancing Tea" (16 March 2010)
  23. "A Sunnysands Tick Tock Shock" (17 March 2010)
  24. "Wulfy's Day with Mr Whoops" (18 March 2010)
  25. "Captain Shipshape and a Fish Called Bryan" (19 March 2010)
  26. "Grandpa's Greatest Escape Ever" (20 March 2010)

Series 3 (2010–11)

  1. "The Magic of Christmas" (15 December 2010)
  2. "No Ordinary Pig" (14 February 2011)
  3. "Lighthouse View, as Good as New" (15 February 2011)
  4. "Boom a Boom Whipp Zing Zoo!" (16 February 2011)
  5. "Lenora the Explorer" (17 February 2011)
  6. "A Captain Dumbletwit Box of Tricks" (18 February 2011)
  7. "No Help for Alvin" (21 February 2011)
  8. "Mr Mentor's Marvelicious Inventing Club" (22 February 2011)
  9. "More Than a Biscuit for Mrs McWhiskit" (23 February 2011)
  10. "A Day to Do What You Like to Do" (24 February 2011)
  11. "No Mention of an Invention" (25 February 2011)
  12. "The Sunnysands School for Pirates" (28 February 2011)
  13. "Mr Greator the Creator" (1 March 2011)
  14. "Mr Whoops' Wonderful Wedding" (2 March 2011)

Series 4 (2014)

  1. "A Grandpa Made of Magic" (27 January 2014)
  2. "Roly Poly Ravioli" (28 January 2014)
  3. "Miss Smiley's Springtime Make and Do Day" (29 January 2014)
  4. "An Aussie Afternoon with Bob" (30 January 2014)
  5. "Squeak! Squeak! Mr Squeak!" (31 January 2014)
  6. "A Day in Woolly Wonderland" (3 February 2014)
  7. "The Great Big Sunnysands Cake Bake" (4 February 2014)
  8. "Mr Munchmould's Cheesy Business" (5 February 2014)
  9. "There Came a Big Spider" (6 February 2014)
  10. "The Wonderbubble Weather Watcher" (7 February 2014)
  11. "Dancing with Delight" (10 February 2014)
  12. "Mistress Smiley's Medieval Fairground Fun" (11 February 2014)
  13. "Waffling at the Windmill" (12 February 2014)
  14. "A Day of Spectacular Surprises" (13 February 2014)
  15. "The Day the Callminders Called on Mr Whoops" (14 February 2014)
  16. "A Good Old-Fashioned Party" (17 March 2014)
  17. "A Cleaning Job for Our Friend Bob" (18 March 2014)
  18. "Wulfy the Wonderdog" (19 March 2014)
  19. "Billy Bentice the Apprentice" (20 March 2014)
  20. "Changes for the Better" (21 March 2014)
  21. "Mr Greator is Up to No Good" (24 March 2014)
  22. "Best Behaviour for Barnaby" (25 March 2014)
  23. "A Souvenir of Sunnysands" (26 March 2014)
  24. "Things That Go Bump on a Boat" (27 March 2014)
  25. "A Customer in a Fluster" (28 March 2014)
  26. "A Mix-up at the Mill" (5 May 2014)
  27. "Mr Mentor's Spangly Jangly Dangle Dish" (6 May 2014)
  28. "Poorly Pansy Petunia" (7 May 2014)
  29. "Mr Yomper Stomper's Donkey Day" (8 May 2014)
  30. "Wanda Whoops' World of Whooo!" (9 May 2014)
  31. "The Balderdashes on Bob's Boat" (12 May 2014)
  32. "One Man's Junk Is Another Man's Treasure" (13 May 2014)
  33. "Don't Blame Wulfy" (14 May 2014)
  34. "Mr Mentor's Whizzywoodlesome Whirly Windwhooper" (15 May 2014)
  35. "The Mystery of the Missing Millions" (16 May 2014)
  36. "Cheery Charlie Cheekster's Big Return" (19 May 2014)
  37. "Mrs Pufferbang's Balloony Beach Bonanza" (20 May 2014)
  38. "Bertie Beep and His Talking Sheep" (21 May 2014)
  39. "A Sunnysands Shelter for Bella La Belter" (22 May 2014)
  40. "A Robodoggy for Miss Snip" (23 May 2014)
  41. "The Brillioso Beach Treat" (6 October 2014)
  42. "Great Aunt Loretta on Duty" (7 October 2014)
  43. "Mighty Mike and a Bear on a Hike" (8 October 2014)
  44. "Great Aunt Loretta's Dream Date" (9 October 2014)
  45. "Whizzy William" (10 October 2014)
  46. "Shiny Gold Stars" (13 October 2014)
  47. "Captain Dumbletwit's Dress-Up Party" (14 October 2014)
  48. "In a Muddle with Miss Muddleton" (15 October 2014)
  49. "A Day for a Piratey Adventure" (16 October 2014)
  50. "The Magic of the Mill on the Marsh" (17 October 2014)
  51. "A Passion for Fashion" (20 October 2014)
  52. "A Dinosaur Called Damian" (21 October 2014)

Awards and nominations

DVD releases

In the United Kingdom, the first season was released on DVD by Warner Home Video from 2010 to 2011, with Decode Enterprises securing the deal in July 2009.[5]

Abbey Home Media handled DVD distribution rights to the second and third seasons.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: CBeebies unveils preschooler first.
  2. Web site: CBeebies unveils preschooler first.
  3. Web site: James Bolam returns in new series of Grandpa in My Pocket on CBeebies . 1 January 2014 . 28 January 2014 . BBC.
  4. Web site: Grandpa in My Pocket | FULL EPISODE | Sunnysands Shelter for Bella la Belter | Series 5 | Kids TV . YouTube. 19 November 2019 .
  5. Web site: DECODE signs U.K. Licensing, DVD Partners for Grandpa in My Pocket .