Written by Joe Jackson on May 13, 2022. Posted in Production News

Kids programmes HOW and The Makery filmed at Bristol's Bottle Yard Studios

A new series of CITV’s kids factual series HOW is now airing after filming at Bristol’s Bottle Yard Studios in January and February earlier this year. The popular show for children began over fifty years ago, returning to screens with a rebooted version in 2020. Kent-based production company Terrific Television were already familiar with the West of England’s biggest filming facility, basing at Bottle Yard Studios to shoot another youth series - The Makery - for Sky Kids.

Things heat up when filming HOW in the backlot at Bottle Yard Studios

“The Bottle Yard has always made us feel welcome,” emphasises Katie Oakley, Terrific Television’s Head of Production. “The Studios are great at being ‘green’, which really helps with gaining albert sustainable production accreditation. There’s also no better place to be during a pandemic, their operations have been reassuringly COVID-safe.”

The Makery is a new 'make-and-do' show for children

Sky Kids’ The Makery is presented by Nim Odredra and consists of twenty-five 15-minute episodes. The new series was filmed between August and October 2021 with funhouse-style set built for purpose at the Bottle Yard. Meanwhile, the rebooted version of HOW is presented by Vick Hope, Sam Homewood and Frankie Vu alongside legendary broadcaster and original presenter Fred Dinenage. Currently airing on weekdays, series two of CITV’s new-look show is made up of twenty 25-minute episodes.

The rebooted HOW series features former and new presenters

"We became aware that The Bottle Yard is committed to creating opportunities for industry newcomers,” Katie adds. “We connected with one of their runners, Imogen, who filmed with us in the Winter and who we’ve already invited back for when we return this Summer. It’s great to see the Studios working with productions to create experiences for those starting out in their careers.”

Imogen on the HOW set at Bottle Yard Studios

“It was such an amazing experience to work with Terrific Television on HOW,” details Imogen. “I learnt so much and it was a great feeling to see my name appear in the credits for the first time. I’ve since gone on to work as Costume Assistant on a feature made by Bristol company Happy Hour Productions and will re-join the Terrific team soon for their next project. I feel like I’m building my experience and gaining an understanding of the industry and different areas of production I might want to go into in future.”

Image credits: CITV_Terrific Television and Sky Kids_Terrific Television