Brexit will draw talent from UK, says animator Blue Zoo

London’s status as one of the world’s capitals for animation is under threat from a Brexit skills crunch, one of its leading lights has warned.

Bafta-winning production house Blue Zoo, behind a string of children’s shows including Digby Dragon, has warned the UK could soon lose skilled animators to the world’s other hubs, Canada and Ireland.

The company has a significant foreign workforce, drawn largely from France and Italy, and receives commissions from across the globe.

Co-founder Tom Box said: “The worry is if the work from international firms goes away, it does not take much for talent to go away too.”

Co-founder Oli Hyatt, who also runs lobby group Animation UK, added: “The irony is there’s a lot of exportable value in what we do, creating intellectual property which can be sold around the world so it’s a valuable industry.”

Blue Zoo, based off Great Portland Street, has formed a new business to create shows to be sold worldwide after £30 million funding was secured last month from investor China UK Animation Company, which now owns 25%.

The animator plans to use the funds to create shows with “good moral fibre” that will work in Asia and to make a feature film.