Part Two- IT'S BEEN 'FANTASTIC' SAY BBC CREW AS TEAM BID FAREWELL.

When the series of "Football Fantastic" airs, probably in early July on BBC’s CBeebies, it will consist of ten 15 minute episodes. I am amazed when Dominic tells me they manage to complete around 25 minutes of TV every week, which adds up to five minutes a day. I stop myself from asking what they do for the rest of the time, because even I know that making television is a painstaking process and it has to be perfect before it gets anywhere near our screens!

If time-scales allow, Strike hopes to show the programme in the Village Hall before it goes on air, although this depends on whether or not the editing process is completed in time. Dominic remarked “Either way, even signalling the intention is a way of saying a huge thank you to the villagers of Bishop Monkton who have made us feel so welcome. Everyone has been brilliant, from our initial contact through to the people who make sure that the pitches are in mint condition when we film. TV production crews are not always easy company, there are a lot of us and we demand a lot of facilities, time and space, but the people here have accommodated us wonderfully well. The whole crew has enjoyed their time in Bishop Monkton enormously.”

What impact does he think that this series will have on its audience?

“The younger actors are aged 11", comments Dominic. "The qualifications to be cast were that they not only had to be naturals in front of a camera, but that they had to be very good footballers too. One or two of them are already signed up to Academies in Professional Clubs. Their characters are eight years old, an age which seems impossibly grown up to the four-six year old audience we are seeking. The team at Strike is passionate about how kids are represented and also passionate about football. We have a wonderful, diverse cast who will provide a lot of positive role models for our audience’.

Partly because of this, there is a thought amongst the production crew that the decoration of the hall could be left as it is, at least for the short term. As Dominic points out “This show will create TV heroes with which local children will identify and if they could have the opportunity to have, say, their birthday parties on the actual ‘Football Fantastics’ set, it could provide them with a dream come true".

It is above the pay grade of this website to advise the esteemed members of the Village Hall Committee whether or not to have the original decoration restored straight away, but letting children emulate their heroes might not only be enormous fun for them, but could well have a positive and long lasting impact.

In conclusion, the last words of this two part article must belong to our interviewer, Paul, " Thanks again to Dominic for his time and best wishes to everyone on the production. Personally I hope that the stars of ‘Football Fantastics’ are as big a hit with this generation as John Noakes was with mine”.

To read the first part of this interview click