Clive is a vain and lazy lion and he is a judge on a new talent competition, and if you don’t live up to his expectations, he will eat you for breakfast.
This is Zoo Factor, a new children’s puppet series which parodies shows like The X-Factor, is currently being shot in Studio Solas, Indreabhán, Connemara, by Telegael.
The series has been written by Mark Evans (The Saturday Night Takeaway, Strictly Come Dancing ) and Will Ing (Pop Idol, 8 out of 10 Cats ) The executive producers are Paul Cummins of Telegael and Robin Lyons of Calon. The director is Alan Nixon.
Zoo Factor features an assortment of exotic animals as the judges, audience, and excited contestants hoping to get their big break in showbiz
The host is cuddly marsupial Hilly Wallaby. Each week Hilly will introduce a variety of wild puppet animals with unusual skills to compete against each other in front of the judging panel headed by Clive, glamorous showbiz seal Celia, and Barry, a monkey who is guaranteed to say something inappropriate.
The competition is fierce because if you win you’re a champion. If you’re beaten, you’re eaten by Clive. Zoo Factor will be there every step of the way to follow the acts before and after they perform, hear their sob stories and their hopes and dreams for the competition.
Produced by Alan Nixon, Siobhán Ní Ghadhra, and John Brady, the series is a co-production with Cardiff based Calon TV, which created Superted and Fireman Sam.
“We are delighted to have such an exciting project shooting here in Galway,” said John Brady. “We have been able to utilise local crew and talent who have been second to none in their commitment and passion for the project.”
The entire series will be filmed at Studio Solas. Telegael is providing the HD filming equipment and post-production facilities. Post-production will be continuing into 2010 for broadcast later that year.
