Not so cracking: animators being shorn of skills and funds, says Aardman chief

The head of Aardman, the Oscar Winning British studio behind Wallace and Gromit and Shaun the Sheep, has warned that animation productions for children’s television will have to be made overseas because acute challenges are taking their toll on the UK sector.

Sean Clarke, Aardman’s managing director, said the company was struggling with everything from serious competition from other countries on tax relief to a dire skills shortage.

“Children’s television is suffering and what’s produced in this country will go off the edge ofa  cliffin the next couple of years, unless something is done,” he said. The ideas will still be conceived here, but they’Ll be made elsewhere.”

The likes of Ireland, France, Canada and the Canary Islands are offering animation tax relief ranging between 37% and 50%, compared with only 25% in Britain. Clarke said: Thave the Spanish calling me all the time, saying Why don’t you come to the Canaries, where it’s up to 50%?’ We have to consider it.”

Aardman could not have made its television classics if it had faced today’s acute challenges, he said. We created Shaun the Sheep 15 years ago and made 150 episodes... if Aardman were starting today, it would be incredibly hard to produce Shaun the Sheep in this country.