Derry based TV production company Alleycats has been nominated for a BAFTA  Award for their BBC Two TV series Clive Myrie’s Caribbean Adventure. The Alleycats team will be headed for London on May 11th for the ceremony, hoping to bring back one of the iconic trophies to their office. It turns out that the BAFTA Awards are quite the big day out, with free hair and makeup, and a number of party invites, so win or lose, they will be making the most of it!

In this series BBC news anchor and journalist Clive explores his family roots, from the vibrant streets of Cuba to the beautiful beaches of Barbados, and celebrates the energy, creativity and joy of a place close to paradise. On paper, it sounds like a job you would actually pay to do, but the reality is the team had only just over 2 days to film an episode, and across 15 episodes, that adds up to quite a gruelling schedule – creating 15 mins of final cut TV a day. However, one of the privileges of working in TV is it can provide life changing opportunities to travel and meet people, and the Alleycats team in the Caribbean, made the most of them.

Director Des Henderson did an amazing job leading the team in the field, and making the footage look sumptuous. Back at base, Producers Emma Parkins, Ed Stobart, Denis Minihan and Jane Magowan along with their home team supported them, scoping out stories and writing scripts. Making sure the production was meticulously planned and worked like clockwork was head of production Judy Wilson and production manager Niamh Kelly. Editing the films with sublime skill in Derry were Reuben McNutt and Ciaran O’Hagan.

The company loves travelogues – past adventures have included driving a golden camper van from the UK to Australia for C4, the whole company moving to Utah to film Alex Jones from BBC One Show undertaking a 3 day climb, and filming the pyramids of Sudan for C4. The company is keen to expand in Derry, and take on more adventures.