Some of Hull’s most famous faces have teamed up with a local charity to bring children’s stories to life for “Storytime in Hull”.
Charity Hull and East Yorkshire Children’s University and local film studio INIT Creative have created the feel-good video series created especially for local schools to mark the National Year of Reading.
Taking its cue from popular CBeebies Bedtime Stories, the project puts a proudly local spin on the format. Instead of famous faces from the telly, Storytime in Hull features famous faces from the city of Hull. Each one has been invited to sit down, pick up a book, and read aloud, just for the children of Hull and East Yorkshire.
And the “Storytellers” may be just as recognisable as the tales they are telling. The local faces included Hull City Captain Lewie Coyle, Tommy Coyle, BBC Look North presenter Peter Levy, Jessie Roux from the latest series of The Traitors, Actress Gemma Oaten, BBC Humberside’s Kofi Smiles and Amy Thompson and former Home Secretary and Each story was shared with local schools and uploaded to YouTube so they can be played both in the classroom and in the home.
Rose James, CEO at Hull and East Yorkshire Children’s University, said: “I had seen the CBeebies series and thought how fantastic it would be if we could create something similar just for our city, especially as it’s the National Year of Reading. Storytime in Hull is about sparking that magic moment when a child falls in love with a book and I hope that the adults will enjoy watching the videos just as much as the children. We are absolutely thrilled with how the videos turned out and I’m sure everyone will agree that our Storytellers did an amazing job.”
Adam Storch, Founder at INIT Creative, said: “This is exactly the kind of project that reminds you why you got into creative work in the first place. Storytime in Hull is joyful, it’s warm, and it’s rooted in this incredible city we call home. Getting to work with Hull and East Yorkshire Children’s University to make it happen has been a real privilege. We’ve had so much fun bringing it to life, and we hope the children AND adults enjoy seeing those famous Hull faces, book in hand, reading just for them.”
How to watch
The Storytime in Hull videos are completely free to watch on YouTube and social media. Follow Hull and East Yorkshire Children’s University online to find them or search Storytime in Hull on YouTube.