TV Movie Introduction:

On January 1, 2016 BBC One broadcast a new made for TV movie based on a children's novel written by David Williams called "Billionaire Boy".

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The story is about the relationship between a father and his son. Dad is a regular guy who strikes gold by inventing a new toilet roll called "Bumfresh" and overnight he becomes a billionaire.

Our hero was 12-year-old Joe Spud (Elliot Sprakes), living in Dickensian penury with dad Len (Cold Feet's John Thomson), a downtrodden minion at the local toilet roll factory. One miserable Christmas, their lives were upended as Len had a eureka moment and invented "Bumfresh" – loo paper moist on one side, dry on the other ("the biggest thing to hit the toilet roll world since Aloe Vera!”).

Soon father and son were kicking back in head-spinning luxury, with Warwick Davis on hand as an exasperated butler and Catherine Tate playing a gold-digging airhead who loved Len's (toilet) paper fortune and was only vaguely interested in the man behind the dosh. A Widow Twankey-esque cameo from Walliams himself as a crazed dinner lady evoked the anarchic spirit of panto season.

Credits
Role                        Contributor
Len Spud                   John Thomson
Sapphire Diamond      Catherine Tate
Himself                     Warwick Davis
Mrs Trafe                  David Walliams
Miss Sharpe              Rebecca Front
Mr Darrow               James Fleet
Joe Spud                  Elliot Sprakes
Himself                     Bryn Terfel
Raj                         Harish Patel
Bob                         Nathan Waight

Boy Actor Introduction:

Main Lead:
Elliot Sprakes as Joe Spud

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There isn't much about Elliot on-line since this is his first major role on the small screen. I was able to gather the following:

Location:      Doncaster
Height:      4'9" (144cm)
Weight:      4st. 10lb. (30kg)
Playing Age:      9 - 15 years
     
Appearance:      White
Eye Colour:      Green
Hair Colour:      Red/Titian
     

Credits:

Elliot was recently seen starring as Joe Spud in David Walliams' 'Billionaire Boy' for BBC ONE, directed by Matt Lipsey.

Credits
2015, Television, Joe Spud, Billionaire Boy, Little Bert for BBC, Matt Lipsey
2015, Television, Joel, Scraps, CBBC, Danann Breathnach
2014, Stage, First Former, Kes, CAST, Doncaster, Kully Thiarai


What about Elliot Sprakes who played Joe?
It was his first major TV role and quite the place for him to start.

Character? With one foot in both worlds but belongs in neither, poor Joe doesn't feel like he belongs anywhere. As Len's son, Joe's fortune is predicated on the sale of toilet roll, making high society out of bounds, and to the others at his comprehensive he's just another rich boy.

A Doncaster schoolboy is taking centre stage in a new David Walliam's adaptation, set to air this party season, in what will be his first major role.

Elliot Sprakes, of Bentley, will hit our screens on New Years Day as the star of Billionaire Boy, a classic rags-to-riches story.

The Don Valley Academy pupil plays Joe Spud, the 12-year-old son of Len who becomes a billionaire after inventing a new toilet roll. However, Joe is not interested in his father’s new-found money and only wants a friend.

Elliot, who lives at home with proud parents Christian, 44, and Lynn, 42, and 10-year-old sister Sienna, had four auditions before being given the role earlier this year. Four weeks of filming followed in Sheffield, Rotherham and London, which was complete in October.

“The best thing about the process was meeting everyone, I’ve made really good friends with some of the other actors. The most challenging thing was the long hours,” said the young actor.

The 14-year-old added that he enjoyed acting alongside household names Daivid Williams, who plays dirty old dinnerlady’ Mrs Trafe, and John Thomsom who plays Joe’s dad Len, as well as Catherine Tate and Warwick Davis.

He struck up a close friendship with fellow young actor Nathan Waight, who plays Joe’s friend Bob in the programme, meaning he always had fun on set.

Dad Christian said: “He gets on really well with Nathan, if they are within ten yards of each other they will spring together. They didn’t know each other before, but they became inseperable. Nathan only lives in Manchester so it’s not too far away. It’s really nice because the friendship you see between them on-screen is genuine.”



Supporting role:
Nathan Waight as Bob

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Movie Clips:

Billionaire Boy promo
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Sapphire arrives for lunch date
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Mrs.Trafe the lunchlady
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A major critics review of Billionaire Boy movie... a must see
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Pictures in the next post

This is really cute.

The two boys are great together.



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