Comedian adapts Alex Wheatle's Crongton novels

Comedian Archie Maddocks has written a new children’s TV series for the BBC.

Crongton is based on the best-selling novels by Alex Wheatle and revolves around a group of young people living in a thriving multicultural community in a fictional urban housing estate.

The BBC has commissioned ten, 25-minute episodes – aimed at viewers aged 10 to 12 – for iPlayer and casting has just got under way.

Production company New Pictures say of the series: ‘Shot through with irreverent humour and featuring animated fantasy sequences, it’s a joyful, energetic ride through the trials and tribulations of growing up, a celebration of the kind of community you only find on an estate, and a look at how you come to terms with the darkness of the world around you when you’re on the cusp of childhood and adulthood.’

Maddocks is working on the scripts with a team of witters that includes fellow comic Athena Kugblenu  as well as Thara Popoola, who wrote on an episode of Sex Education, and Willow Mirza, who has previously worked on developing projects with Romesh Ranganathan.

Maddocks said: ‘Reading Alex Wheatle’s books, I was struck by how much the characters and their world reflect my own upbringing. They were just like me and my friends; I could have known them all. 

‘Crongton is a project that has been close to my heart for a very long time and, like many, many fans of the novels, I can’t wait to finally see the transformation of Alex’s amazing world from the page to the screen.’

As well as being a stand-up Maddocks is a playwright whose work A pLace For Me was nominated for an Olivier Award in 2022. His plays have been produced at the Bush Theatre, Lyric Hammersmith, Orange Tree Theatre and Royal Court in London and  the New Light Theatre in New York.

Gassed Up, a film about a member of a moped street-gang who uses the proceeds to  support his family,won the London Film Festival audience prize in 2023. 

 In a statement, Crongton  executive producers Willow Grylls and Imogen O’Sullivan, said: ‘Alex Wheatle’s Crongton books are modern classics, and well-thumbed staples in classrooms across the country. 

‘They offer a picture of a diverse, chaotic, funny, and joyful British experience with so much to say to young people, and particularly young people from less well represented backgrounds. 

‘Our aim with this television adaptation of Crongton is to charm not just young people, but everyone young at heart in a visually distinctive, uniquely British series, with real cultural importance, and wide international appeal.’

Published: 22 Jan 2024