Brian Joseph Cosgrove OBE (born 6 April 1934) is an English animator, designer, director, producer and sculptor, best known as the creator of the animated children shows '' Danger Mouse'' and ''

Count Duckula ''Count Duckula'' is a British children's animated comedy horror television series created by British studio Cosgrove Hall Films and produced by Thames Television as a spin-off from '' Danger Mouse'', a series in which an early version of the ...

''. In 2012 he won the BAFTA Special Award.

Early life

Born in Manchester, Cosgrove studied at Manchester College of Art and Design. It was there he met his future work partner Mark Hall.

Career

Cosgrove started his career by producing television graphics at

Granada Television ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire but only on weekdays as ABC Weekend Television was it ...

. He later joined Stop Frame Productions, which his partner at

, Mark Hall founded, where he worked on many public service films, commercials for companies like

TVTimes ''TV Times'' is a British television listings magazine published by Future plc. It was originally published by Independent Television Publications, owned by the participating ITV companies. The magazine was acquired by IPC Media in 1989, which ...

and directed and produced animated shows such as ''The Magic Ball'' and ''Sally And Jake''. After Stop Frame Productions was shut down, Cosgrove and Hall founded

Cosgrove Hall Films Cosgrove Hall Films (also known as Cosgrove Hall Productions) was an English animation studio founded by Brian Cosgrove and Mark Hall; its headquarters was in Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester. Cosgrove Hall was once a major producer of childr ...

, where they produced some of the most well known animated children's shows and films in Britain, such as '' Danger Mouse'', ''

'', ''

The Wind in the Willows ''The Wind in the Willows'' is a children's novel by the British novelist Kenneth Grahame, first published in 1908. It details the story of Mole, Ratty, and Badger as they try to help Mr. Toad, after he becomes obsessed with motorcars and gets ...

'' (which would later become a 52 episode TV series), ''

Noddy's Toyland Adventures ''Noddy's Toyland Adventures'' is a British children's television programme that was broadcast from September 1992 until April 1994 and December 1994, and again in 2000 on the BBC. It was produced by Cosgrove Hall Films in stop-motion animation. ...

'', '' Bill and Ben'' and ''

Fifi and the Flowertots ''Fifi and the Flowertots'' is a British stop-motion children's television series created by Keith Chapman for Five (acquired rights only) and Nick Jr. (under the "Original Series" brand). It aired from 2 May 2005 to 16 July 2010. The series ...

'' until 2009. In 1989, Cosgrove directed and produced the animated feature film ''

The BFG ''The BFG'' (short for ''The Big Friendly Giant'') is a 1982 children's book written by British novelist Roald Dahl and illustrated by Quentin Blake. It is an expansion of a short story from Dahl's 1975 book '' Danny, the Champion of the World ...

'', based on the

Roald Dahl Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British novelist, short-story writer, poet, screenwriter, and wartime fighter ace of Norwegian descent. His books have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide. Dahl has be ...

novel of the same name. According to Cosgrove, this is one of the only adaptations, based on one of Roald Dahl's novels, that Dahl himself actually liked. Since 2011, Cosgrove has been the creator and executive producer of Cosgrove Hall Fitzpatrick Entertainment.

Personal life

Cosgrove is good friends with actor and comedian

Sir David Jason Sir David John White (born 2 February 1940), known professionally by his stage name David Jason, is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as Derek "Del Boy" Trotter in the BBC sitcom ''Only Fools and Horses'', Detective Inspector J ...

, who has been a loyal collaborator on most of his projects.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cosgrove, Brian 1934 births Living people Alumni of Manchester Metropolitan University BAFTA winners (people) British animated film directors British animated film producers English animators English film directors English film producers English male sculptors English sculptors English television directors English television producers Officers of the Order of the British Empire