The Snow Spider is coming to television. CBBC and BBC Wales have co-commissioned a five part adaptation of Jenny Nimmo’s trilogy of novels from indie Leopard Pictures. The series will air on both CBBC and BBC Wales in 2020.
The Snow Spider nine year old Gwyn Griffiths on a mystical journey of discovery. The series opens with Gwyn Griffiths gloomily awaiting the day of his ninth birthday, an occasion marred once again by the reminder of his missing sister Bethan, who disappeared four years earlier. Little does he know his life is about to be changed forever.
Nain, his eccentric grandmother, has long anticipated her grandson’s ninth birthday and gives him five enchanted gifts: a piece of seaweed, a whistle, a brooch, a burnt toy horse, and a piece of yellow cloth, torn from the scarf Bethan wore the night she went missing. Convinced the old magic of the Welsh mountains lives on in her grandson, Nain tells Gwyn they will help make him a magician and to give each gift to the wind when the moment feels right, except for the toy horse, whose powers can’t be tamed.
When Gwyn casts his brooch to the wind, before him appears the warm, glowing familiar who will guide him through all that follows, Arianwen, the magical Snow Spider. The cast assembled for the series includes Fflyn Edwards, Mali Jenkins, Dion Mason-Jones, Eva Ossei-Gerning, Melanie Walters, Matthew Gravelle, Kezia Burrows, Carli De La Hughes, Simon Nehan, Jonah Kelly-Fisher and Macsen Forrest. Owen Sheers penned the scripts. Jennifer Sheridan is the director, while Martyna Knitter is the Director of Photography. Liverpool-based visual effects company Sparkle VFX is handling the special effects. Lindsay Hughes is the series producer. Amy Buscombe is the Commissioning Editor for BBC
“Jenny Nimmo’s Snow Spider Trilogy has been adored by generations; The magnificent Owen Sheers has adapted the first book in this timeless series, bringing the messages of hope, magic and understanding to modern audiences on CBBC and BBC Wales”, said Kristian Smith, Managing Director of Leopard Pictures, who serves as the executive producer on The Snow Spider. The adaptation has received investment from the Liverpool City Region Production Fund as well as additional support through the Liverpool Film Office. Production is underway and will continue in and around the Wirral with additional filming in Wales throughout October.
While Owen Sheers added: “It’s been such a pleasure to dive into the world of Jenny Nimmo’s The Snow Spider, and now to have such an exciting cast and creative team to take my adaptation of her book from the page to the screen is very exciting. The whole project holds a special resonance for me as I have fond memories of my parents’ neighbour, Julia Jones, adapting the books for TV back in the 1980s, so to be able to create a new, modern version has been a wonderful opportunity. I’m also hoping I’ve finally written something my five year old daughter will watch!”
