We are thrilled to share that our 9 Story series, A Kind of Spark has received two nominations at this year’s Royal Television Society (RTS) North West Awards (2023).
The live-action series, based on the award-winning book by neurodivergent children’s author Elle McNicoll, is nominated in the category of ‘Best School Age Children’s Programme,’ and series lead, Lola Blue is nominated for the ‘Best Performance in a Drama,’ for her portrayal of the show’s main character, Addie.
The RTS Awards are 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.
A Kind of Spark is powerful and heart-warming story about friendship, courage and self-belief. The series interweaves the past and present in ten action packed episodes full of the joys of friendship, sisterhood, the drama of growing up, mystery and magic.
A Kind of Spark takes place in the small village of Juniper where teenager, Addie, a bright and sparky autistic girl, dreams of acceptance in a conservative community. Addie’s desire to be herself and protect her sister from prejudice becomes entwined with a historical mystery of Maggie and Elinor, two sisters in the 16th century. Maggie was accused of witchcraft and mysteriously vanished before she could be brought to trial while Elinor is struggling with her true self. As Addie tries to figure out what happens to Maggie, she discovers an even more surprising connection to Elinor. Can Addie challenge how the people live-action see her and her autism and make her voice heard?
Filmed in Knutsford, Manchester, and produced by 9 Story Media Group, A Kind of Spark has authentic representation throughout its production with the three lead characters of Addie, Keedie and Nina played by neurodivergent actors, along with approximately 50% of the cast and crew also being neurodivergent.
A Kind of Spark is created for television by Anna McCleery (Free Rein, Secret Life of Boys) and produced by 9 Story Media Group. Lead writers are Anna McCleery and Elle McNicoll (A Kind of Spark, Show Us Who You Are) with Karissa Hamilton-Bannis and Vicki Lutas. It is executive produced for 9 Story by Gráinne McNamara.
Congratulations to our entire exceptional A Kind of Spark team! This nomination is a testament to the dedication, talent, and hard work of our incredible partners, talent, 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. We will be holding our breath on awards night, in hopes of seeing winning sparks fly!
The 2023 RTS North West Awards Ceremony will take place on Friday, 24 November 2023, at Kimpton Clocktower Hotel, in Manchester, United Kingdom.
Watch A Kind of Spark BBC iPlayer, Cbeebies in the UK, on BYUtv in the US and on CBC Gem in Canada.
✨Click here to watch the trailer now.✨
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