We are thrilled to share that our 9 Story series, A Kind of Spark (Season 2) has won the Children’s/Animation award at this year’s Royal Television Society Northern Ireland (RTS NI) Awards (2024). This year’s winners were announced during the 9th RTS NI Awards ceremony, a dazzling event that took place on Thursday, November 14, at the Titanic Belfast. The RTS NI Awards celebrate excellence in television production and broadcasting in Northern Ireland. The awards aim to showcase the region’s vibrant television industry, acknowledging outstanding work in storytelling, creativity, and technical expertise. 
Hosted by Irish TV presenter and podcaster Vogue Williams, this year’s ceremony was attended by honoured guests from the world of media and television, including key members of the A Kind of Spark cast and crew, who were also on hand to accept the prestigious award in the category of Children’s/Animation and celebrate the series well-deserved win together.
The RTS NI Awards are a part of the larger Royal Television Society (RTS) suite of awards, a series of prestigious awards presented annually by the Royal Television Society throughout the United Kingdom. These awards recognize and celebrate excellence in television programming and production across a wide range of categories and are often seen as the gold standard of achievement in the television community. The RTS Regional Awards are focused on recognizing work that is produced across the organisations regional centres and award the very best in television production from their area.
Series 2 of our live-action series, A Kind of Spark—based on the award-winning book by neurodivergent children’s author Elle McNicoll—received two RTS NI Award nominations earlier this year. Alongside its nomination (and now win!) in the Children’s/Animation category, Ella Maisy Purvis was also nominated for the Breakthrough Award (On-Screen and Off-Screen) for her outstanding portrayal of the show’s character Bonnie.
Produced by 9 Story Media Group for BBC, A Kind of Spark is a powerful series about the joys of friendship, sisterhood, the drama of growing up, based on the best-selling book by neurodivergent author, Elle McNicoll.
It tells the inspirational story of an autistic teenager Addie. When she learns about the witch trials that happened centuries ago in her hometown of Juniper, Addie knows that there’s more to the story of these ‘witches’, just as there is more to her own. Series two takes place in the summer following on from the events of series one, and a face from the past and a mysterious bookshop bring new challenges for Addie and her loved ones. Can Addie work out what’s next?
Building on the storylines from season one, the new season of A Kind of Spark also dives into new key themes including growing up through an autistic lens, learning there’s more than one way to be, and how to handle internal and external pressure.
Inclusivity is at the heart of the show both on and off screen. Almost half the cast and crew are neurodivergent, and the production team worked closely with the cast to be mindful of sensory or stimulation points in regard to wardrobe, hair, make-up and set, and each filming location had a sensory room or trailer for cast who needed a safe, quiet space.
Filmed in Northern Ireland with support from Northern Ireland Screen, A Kind of Spark (Season 2) has authentic representation throughout its production with lead characters played by neurodivergent actors including, Addie (Lola Blue), Keedie (Georgia De Gidlow), and Nina (Caitlin Hamilton) along with Bonnie (Ella Maisy Purvis), a new character for series two.
A Kind of Spark is created for television by Anna McCleery (Free Rein, Secret Life of Boys) and executive produced for 9 Story Media Group by Gráinne McNamara. Kim Powers (A Kind of Spark, Hello, Jack! The Kindness Show) serves as Showrunner and Executive Producer. Lead writers are Anna McCleery and Elle McNicoll (A Kind of Spark, Show Us Who You Are) with Karissa Hamilton-Bannis, Vicki Lutas and Scott Payne.
Congratulations to our exceptional A Kind of Spark team! This win is a testament to the dedication, talent, and hard work of our incredible partners, cast, creatives and crew. Each member of this remarkable community has played a vital role in bringing Elle McNicoll’s incredible vision to life. A well-deserved recognition all around.
Watch A Kind of Spark BBC iPlayer, Cbeebies in the UK, on BYUtv in the US and on CBC Gem in Canada.
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