Producer Big Little Fish launched a few years ago predominantly as an adult-facing non-scripted production company. Its CEO, Mark Procter, had in the past produced and directed multiple children\u2019s series for CBBC, Channel 4 Learning and Discovery Family, as well as working in development at Disney Channel, which made a move into children\u2019s programming not a far reach.<\/p>\n
When the company had the opportunity to partner with vegan chef and influencer Omari McQueen on a brand-new series for CBBC, it \u201crelished the freedom and fun you can only have in this genre,\u201d says Ros Attille, who was appointed as the company\u2019s first head of children\u2019s and young audiences earlier this summer. Attille is the former head of preschool development at BBC Studios Kids & Family and previously developed and created hit returning titles such as\u00a0JoJo & Gran Gran<\/em>,\u00a0YolanDa\u2019s Band Jam\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0Grace\u2019s Amazing Machines<\/em>.<\/p>\n Attille describes\u00a0Meet the McQueens<\/em>\u00a0as a \u201cfeel-good, produced reality series,\u201d and its success led to a strategic business decision to quickly expand Big Little Fish\u2019s activity in this space. \u201cI\u2019ve known Mark for many years (more than I care to mention, in fact), and when I talked to him and the senior team at Big Little Fish about how we could develop and produce new global brands for children\u2019s and young audiences, it was a really exciting prospect.\u201d<\/p>\n On what\u2019s guiding her strategy in this role, Attille says: \u201cWhile traditional terrestrial broadcasters are still the mainstay of U.K. commissioning, like most indies, I\u2019ll be looking at a broader landscape of opportunities: multiplatform, VOD\/SVOD, etc. I\u2019m also hoping to tap into the links the company already has with some U.S. networks.\u201d She adds, \u201cIt would be great to establish one or two brands and then work to build those as far as they can go.\u201d<\/p>\n When Attille developed\u00a0JoJo & Gran Gran<\/em>\u00a0for CBeebies, it was conceived as the story of two very individual characters within their specific community in their own unique world. \u201cIt was never a \u2018representation\u2019 of a whole community!\u201d she says. \u201cAnd that\u2019s very much the vibe of\u00a0Meet the McQueens<\/em>, too. So, in that sense, I really want to bring unique and individual stories to the screen; there are still so many out there. I am keen to showcase the lived experiences of people of color in a genuine and valid way (we are still under-represented both on-screen and off-screen).\u201d<\/p>\n The approach for animation and live action will be the same, Attille says, \u201clooking for compelling stories and working with inspiring storytellers and creatives. I love working on mixed media projects, and a couple of the projects I\u2019m currently developing are just that. But my first love has always been puppets and skins; I feel like a proper kid when I\u2019m in their presence! Any opportunity to develop puppet-based content will be grasped.\u201d<\/p>\n Her time at the BBC helped to ingrain the ethos of public service, \u201cof delivering what children want and, most importantly, what children need; of delivering a breadth of content; of inclusivity in its most authentic form; and the basic human values of kindness, friendship and fun. But of course, I\u2019m always striving for refreshing, innovative content. All of these things will be informing my onward journey with Big Little Fish but with a uniqueness that comes from working with this company at this point in time.\u201d<\/p>\n Meet the McQueens<\/em>\u00a0arrived on CBBC in February 2023 and immediately became the second most-requested factual title on the CBBC iPlayer. But more importantly, Attille says, \u201cit has captured new audiences with a broader socioeconomic diversity and communities that don\u2019t usually come to the BBC for children\u2019s content, and that\u2019s a key metric in the measure of success for this brand. Omari\u2019s recipes are also garnering large numbers on YouTube.<\/p>\n \u201cOmari is a great personality and an amazingly talented young chef with a blossoming profile,\u201d she adds. \u201cWe are exploring ideas for both Omari as an individual and with his family\u2014so, watch this space!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ros Attille, head of children\u2019s and young audiences at producer Big Little Fish, talks about expanding the business in the kids’ space. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":350,"featured_media":25618,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,21],"tags":[8173,7952],"class_list":["post-25617","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-profiles","category-top-stories","tag-big-little-fish","tag-ros-attille","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\n