Behind The Scenes Of The Big Fix Up

Aardman and Fictioneers name British actors Miriam Margolyes and Jim Carter as two of the well-known voices starring in its upcoming Wallace & Gromit augmented reality adventure.

MONDAY 29TH JUNE 2020: Aardman and Fictioneers have revealed the line-up of actors that will voice new characters in their highly anticipated Wallace & Gromit augmented reality story: The Big Fix Up, launching later this Autumn. It will include award-winning British actors Miriam Margolyes OBE and Jim Carter OBE.

The activity, which will be an all-new Wallace & Gromit story, will be a completely new foray into augmented reality for the duo. Later this year, join Wallace and his faithful hound as their latest business venture, Spick & Spanners, takes on the contract of a lifetime: to ‘Fix Up’ Bristol. Fans will be invited to download a free app and play along at home as an employee, and for the first time ever, step directly into Wallace & Gromit’s world.

The story brings Wallace & Gromit to life in an entirely new way, while creating a cutting edge new platform for storytelling. The adventure will play out in a variety of different types of media, to tell the beats of a story: multi-user AR gameplay, new CGI animations, in character phone calls, comic strips, Extended Reality (XR) portals and more. All brought together in a mobile app, used as a ‘window’ into their world.

The Big Fix Up story can be enjoyed entirely from home, meaning it is accessible to all with a recent model smartphone*. It is set in the city of Bristol, the home of Aardman, but people from all across the UK will be able to take part in the full end-to-end adventure, which will see Wallace, Gromit, and the exciting cast of new characters appear in their very own homes!

Joining Wallace and Gromit on their augmented adventure is an all-new exciting line-up of characters, voiced by a much-loved cast of British actors.

Bafta-winning British actor, Miriam Margolyes OBE, takes the role of BERYL: the Spick & Spanner’s AI bot. A bustling guide and maternal presence, BERYL’s always happiest keeping the job orders, and the tea, flowing.

A-List British actor, Jim Carter OBE, takes on the role of puffed pie magnate and millionaire, Bernard Grubb. A pompous and devious businessman with lofty political aspirations.

Acclaimed British actor, Isy Suttie, will play young Lily Hackerby. A smart cookie with her own successful programming business, Lily has won the investment of a certain Bernard Grubb who quickly takes the quiet coder under his ample wing.

25 year-old newcomer, Grace Ahmed, will be Clarissa Kent: the girl who yearns to be that journalist - the one who cracks the big story, and rights the wrongs. The only trouble is none of the big broadcasters will give her a break. Not to be downtrodden, Clarissa decides to do it herself, posting her reports directly onto social media where she wins her exclusive coverage of all things Spick & Spanners. Clarissa is also a real person. For the first time ever, a real person features in Wallace & Gromit’s adventures!

Speaking about his latest role, Jim Carter said: “I have always loved Wallace and Gromit and was delighted to join them for The Big Fix Up - even if I did have to play a rather unpleasant character.”

The new augmented adventure has been created by award-winning animation studio, Aardman, and Fictioneers: a consortium of British companies including Potato, Sugar Creative and Tiny Rebel Games, with research support from the University of South Wales, and backed by funding from UK Research & Innovation.

The Big Fix Up also forms part of Boundless Creativity, a campaign by the Arts and Humanities Research Council that explores the impact of lockdown on culture and the creative economy, and how culture and the creative industries can thrive in a digital age.

Following its initial UK launch in the Autumn, Fictioneers plans to roll out The Big Fix Up to a variety of global markets this year.

Creator of Wallace & Gromit, Nick Park, said: “Delighted to welcome this wonderful voice cast to Wallace & Gromit’s new augmented reality world! I look forward to meeting their characters this Autumn in The Big Fix Up adventure.”

Dan Clemo, Co-Founder of Sugar Creative (a co-founder of Fictioneers) said: “We’re delighted with our line-up of characters voiced by some of the best in British talent. We knew the casting would be incredibly important to get right, and the way in which they’ve given our characters life in this new and exciting way of storytelling is truly wonderful.”

Fans can find out more about the new characters, and register their interest in joining Spick & Spanners at www.thebigfixup.co.uk.

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