The ScreenUK Podcast

In this episode of the ScreenUK Podcast, host Michael Leader goes inside the making of SHAUN THE SHEEP: THE BEAST OF MOSSY BOTTOM with co-director Matthew Walker and executive producer and chief creative director at Aardman Animations, Sarah Cox.

They discuss how the film sets out to do something genuinely new with one of animation’s most beloved characters - taking Shaun’s world into spooky Halloween territory for the first time, drawing on the British fun horror tradition that the team at Aardman grew up with. Matthew and Sarah talk through the ambition behind the film’s bold new visual palette, the creation of The Beast - the most challenging new character to design - and the introduction of The Vet, a brand new character who steals scenes wherever she appears.

The conversation also turns to the craft at the heart of what Aardman does: what it means to make a genre film in stop-motion, how a character as expressive as Shaun communicates everything without a single word, and why, after all these years, this little sheep continues to resonate with audiences of all ages around the world.

SHAUN THE SHEEP: THE BEAST OF MOSSY BOTTOM is available to watch now - head to the ScreenUK website to find out where you can watch it.

Matthew Walker

Matthew Walker is a writer, director and story artist based in Bristol. He created and developed the series LLOYD OF THE FLIES (2022) for Aardman and has been working in the animation industry since 2005 across commercials, TV series and feature films, including SHAUN THE SHEEP: ADVENTURES FROM MOSSY BOTTOM, SHAUN THE SHEEP: THE FLIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS and CHICKEN RUN: DAWN OF THE NUGGET.

Sarah Cox

Sarah Cox sits on the Board of Directors at Aardman and leads the Development and Creative Pillar. As Chief Creative Director she is responsible for shaping the creative strategy of the studio and the development slate. Her Executive Producer credits include two Emmy-winning Shaun the Sheep productions and the Oscar® nominated and BAFTA® winning WALLACE & GROMIT: VENGEANCE MOST FOWL (2024), and she has brought a range of new projects to the Aardman roster including the Oscar-nominated ROBIN ROBIN (2021) and Aardman’s first CG series LLOYD OF THE FLIES (2022).

Jane Austen published SENSE AND SENSIBILITY anonymously in 1811. More than two hundred years later, director Georgia Oakley and writer Diana Reid have made an adaptation that feels entirely new - and in this episode of the ScreenUK Podcast, Rhianna Dhillon sits down with both of them to find out how.

They unpack the choices behind that fresh take: Diana on why she keeps circling back to stories about women and the identities they build in relation to each other; Georgia on the decision to shoot on 35mm film through the chaos of a Dartmoor autumn; both of them on the dark reading of the book that nobody talks about - is Marianne actually punished by ending up with Colonel Brandon? And why did making the men feel truly worthy of the women require rewriting Edward's entire backstory?

They also get into the Devonshire beaches, the hunting dogs, the duel that's in the book but never on screen, the fight scenes between Elinor and Marianne that had every agent in London turning up on set, the pug named Phyllis, and Diana's firmly held theory that Jane Austen was, above all else, a little bit of a bitch - and that that is the highest possible compliment.

SENSE AND SENSIBILITY is in UK cinemas from 25 September and in the US from 16 October 2026.

Georgia Oakley - Director

Diana Reid - Writer

In June 1944, the fate of D-Day came down to a single weather forecast. In this episode of the ScreenUK Podcast, host Rhianna Dhillon sits down with writer David Haig and director Anthony Maras to go inside the making of PRESSURE - the World War II thriller that tells the extraordinary, little-known story of meteorologist James Stagg, the unsung Scottish hero whose forecast would decide the largest seaborne invasion in history.

David Haig spent more than a decade with this story - first as a playwright, performing Stagg himself over 300 times, then through years of screenplay development that stretched across Covid lockdowns and industry strikes before Anthony Maras came on board to guide it to the screen. Together they talk about the challenge of making a slow-moving weather system as terrifying as a gun or a shark, the decision to cast Andrew Scott in a role built on restraint and stillness rather than conventional heroism, and why Brendan Fraser was the only person to play Eisenhower.

They also reveal the extraordinary story of filming the D-Day beach sequence in real autumn storms that cleared at the exact right moment - and the remarkable coincidence that saw James Stagg's own grandson walk into Working Title's offices to help cut the archival footage that tells his grandfather's story.

PRESSURE is in UK and Irish cinemas now. US audiences can find it on streaming.

David Haig - Writer

Anthony Maras - Director

It took producer Pippa Harris nearly 20 years to bring THE MAGIC FARAWAY TREE to the big screen. In this episode of the ScreenUK Podcast, she joins director Ben Gregor and writer Simon Farnaby to share how they finally did it - and what it took to turn one of Enid Blyton's most beloved children's classics into a film worthy of the millions of people who grew up with it.

The conversation ranges from the nearly 40 drafts that shaped the script, to the custom tattoos Andrew Garfield insisted on, the beard-stroking unit that brought the Land of Know-Alls to life, and the independent VFX company they built above a tube station because no one else could afford to do it for them. It's a conversation about creative ambition, the chaos of independent filmmaking, and what it actually means to make a family film that works for everyone in the room - grandparents, parents, kids, and the rugby dads who didn't expect to cry.

THE MAGIC FARAWAY TREE is in cinemas in the US from 21 August 2026. It is currently the second most successful independent UK film of the year.

Ben Gregor - Director

Pippa Harris - Producer

Simon Farnaby - Writer / Cast

In this episode of the ScreenUK Podcast, host Rhianna Dhillon sits down with director Mike Christie and producer Alice Popplewell to go inside the making of WHAM! 10 DAYS IN CHINA - a new documentary about George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley's landmark 1985 visit to China, when Wham! became the first Western pop group to perform in Communist China.

They tell the story behind the story: the maverick PR plan conceived by manager Simon Napier Bell, the Pandora's box of restored and never-before-seen archive footage, and the years of detective work it took to piece together a film that is 41 years in the making.

Mike and Alice discuss tracking down contributors from across three continents, including Ling Ling Coe - Wham!'s bilingual translator who was one of the only people in the world at the time who could bridge both cultures - and travelling to China with Andrew Ridgeley on the 40th anniversary of the tour. They also explore the film's bigger picture: what the visit meant for Chinese music culture, what the archive reveals about George and Andrew's relationship under pressure, and why Wham! turned out to be the perfect UK ambassadors for that extraordinary moment in history.

Mike Christie, Director of Wham! 10 Days in China.

Alice Popplewell, Producer of Wham! 10 Days in China.

In the first episode of the ScreenUK Podcast, host Frankie Ward goes behind the scenes with Supermassive Games - the UK studio redefining the line between cinema and interactive storytelling.

Learn more about DIRECTIVE 8020 https://www.supermassivegames.com/

Discover more about UK film, tv, animation and games https://www.screenuk.org/ 

A podcast opening up the worlds of UK film, TV, animation and games. Across each episode, we speak to the people behind standout UK film, TV, animation and games - from established names to emerging voices - exploring the stories, influences and creative choices that bring their work to life.