Running out of ways to keep the little ones entertained at the tail-end of the holidays?
Why not get your art game on and get involved with Mister Maker as he heads to Aberdeen and Inverness with his friends The Shapes.
We quiz the man behind the costume, Phil Gallagher, on his love for playing the colourful character and the importance of keeping traditional crafts alive.
Hi, Phil. How did you come to be Mister Maker?
I always had the dream of becoming a kids’ TV presenter. When I left school, I did a radio, film and TV course at university and luckily the university had great links with BBC Radio Kent, where I got a work-experience placement. Everything just snowballed from there.
After Radio Kent, I got another work-experience placement at the Disney Channel and I was only supposed to be there a week, but ended up being there for seven years.
I started as work experience before getting a job as a runner. I then worked my way very slowly up the ranks of the production team and started appearing on the other side of the camera.
Nine years ago, a casting call went out for an arts and crafts show on CBBC. When I got the job as Mister Maker, all of my dreams came true. Thankfully, from the first series the show went on to become a popular TV programme and be a part of CBBC’s life.
What made you want to become a children’s TV presenter?
I just loved kids’ TV when I was little and I loved Phillip Schofield and Andi Peters on the Broom Cupboard. It was literally Phillip Schofield sitting in a cupboard with a camera talking to a child on a one-to-one basis.
That connection is really important and with Mister Maker we want the kids to feel like Mister Maker is their best friend and that they can listen to him, learn something new and enjoy being arty and crafty.
Were you creative as a child?
It was something I loved doing myself as a kid. I loved making things and drawing pictures, and to be now doing that as a job is amazing. It’s a real honour and privilege to be able to do what I do for a living.
Did you find this helped you with your career?
I think it was something that I certainly needed within me. Part of the audition process was not just presenting and seeing how you coped with the cameras; you were tasked with making things, and so all that practice I had as a kid certainly came in handy.
What made you want to turn the programme into stage show?
I’ve always had a love for live theatre. I was performing in pantomimes before I got the Mister Maker job and I just loved them. Because of this, I wanted to transform the TV show into a live stage show and doing it as a UK tour is really exciting.
I hope people will come along and enjoy it, as we’ve worked really hard to make it a show Mister Maker fans will love, but also one which also exceed their expectations, with lots of surprises and audience participation.
It sounds like the show will keep everyone entertained. Will we need to bring our scissors and glue along?
Children don’t need to bring anything to the show – apart from their loud voices and the will to join in.
I won’t go into too much detail as I don’t want to give it away, but all members of the audience will help Mister Maker make something. It appears a simple idea, but it’s quite tricky when you have a big audience.
We also get kids and grownups on stage. We have a fantastic, spectacular show with an all-singing, all-dancing cast, and my colourful friends Circle, Square, Rectangle and Triangle will join me. We tried to make the show as much fun as we could.
We live in an online world now. Why do you think it’s important to keep traditional arts and crafts alive?
I think, particularly with arts and crafts, there are two important things: Enjoying the actual making of something and having confidence, not just for the kids but for the adults, too.
When you’re doing arts and crafts and are proud of what you’ve made, it can really give you confidence with all the other things you do in your life.
I quite often speak to grownups who say they really enjoy watching Mister Maker because it has inspired them to have a go and make things when they thought they didn’t have the confidence to make a picture or get paint out because they weren’t good at it.
We will try and teach an art technique which can create a fantastic effect, but is a simple thing to do. We try to instal that “have a go” attitude, as it will give you confidence and hopefully a sense of pride in what you’ve achieved.
