Sprout Boy meets a Galaxy of Stars (TV story)

Sprout Boy meets a Galaxy of Stars, also titled Sprout Boy, was the 2015 BBC Christmas promotional mini-episode.

It was written by Marc Hatfield and was created for broadcast on BBC One during the festive season. It was also released on the official BBC YouTube channel and BBC iPlayer.

It starred Peter Capaldi as the Doctor who narrated the adventure of Sprout Boy who felt unloved until he was adopted by various BBC characters. Capaldi was the only actor featured in the short.

This was the second time an actor playing the Doctor got to be the main star of the BBC One Christmas idents. The first this happened was the 2009 idents The Doctor and the Reindeer which featured David Tennant.

Publisher's summary
An unloved sprout finds friendship with BBC One stars, from Doctor Who to Sherlock.

Plot
The story consisted of a poem read by the Doctor:

"There once was a sprout with love to give, Looking for friends to spend Christmas with.

A baker he met whilst out and about, Said ‘I love Christmas pudding, and would not go without, But nobody ever liked a sprout’.

The toy maker was next to fill him with doubt,

‘I love Christmas gifts’ she was heard to shout, ‘But nobody ever liked a sprout’.

Soon a burley woodcutter, short and stout, Said ‘I love Christmas trees and I always sell out, But nobody ever liked a sprout’.

Then a voice said ‘Come join us’ inviting him in, ‘Take a seat, the fun is about to begin, Together as ONE is what it’s about, And at Christmas, everyone loves a sprout’."

- The Doctor

Cast

 * The Doctor - Peter Capaldi

Actors whose likeness appeared

 * Sherlock Holmes - Benedict Cumberbatch
 * John Watson - Martin Freeman
 * Dot Branning - June Brown
 * John Luther - Idris Elba
 * Mary Berry - herself
 * Graham Norton - himself
 * Will.i.am - himself
 * Tess Daly - herself
 * Claudia Winkleman - herself

Crew

 * Advertising agency - RKCR/Y&R
 * Executive creative directors - Mark Roalfe, Chris O’Reilly
 * Creative director - Marc Hatfield
 * Head of Planning - Emily James
 * Business director - David Pomfret
 * Account director - Fabia Palliser
 * Account manager - Ilona Lunny
 * Agency producer - Edel Erickson
 * Animation production company - Nexus Studios
 * Directors - Alan Smith, Adam Foulkes
 * Producer - Tracey Cooper
 * Production manager - Fernanda Garcia Lopez
 * CG supervisor - Ben Blunder
 * Storyboarders - Gabriel Schucan, Richard Fitzgerald
 * Character designers - Max Kostenko, Gillian Reid, Ben Godfrey, Daniel Burgess
 * Matte painters - Adam Willis, Callum Strachan, Marco Caradonna, Daniel Burgess, Adam Leary
 * Modelling - RedKnuckles, James Hardingham, Matthew Clark, Sophie Loubiere, Juan Carlos Gracia
 * Texture artists - Benjamin Lebourgeois, Arkin Esref
 * Animators - Dominic Griffiths, Roland Edwards, Aziz Kocanaogullari, Benjamin Tron, Edward Sherwood, Jean-Guillaume Culot
 * Rigging technical director - Pete Addington
 * Rigging - Dan Lane, Anthony Vincent
 * Lighting & Rendering - Darren Rolmanis, Andy Spence, Kevin Russell, Dorianne Filbeuil
 * VFX artists - Pierre Clenet, Tobin Brett
 * Compositing - Ken Hau, Elliott Kajdan, Alexander Swann, Leslie Belot
 * Editor - David Slade
 * Post production / Grade - Simone Grattarola for Time Based Arts
 * Sound design - Anthony Moore, Tom Joyce for Factory
 * Sound design producer - Raluca Anastasiu for Factory
 * Composer - Alex Baranowski and the London Symphony Orchestra for SIREN
 * Executive music producer - Sean Atherton for SIREN
 * Music producer - Sian Rogers for SIREN
 * Writer - Marc Hatfield

Story notes

 * The story was recorded at Abbey Road Studio 1.
 * This is the third televised crossover with the soap opera EastEnders, the first being Dimensions in Time and the second being Dermot and the Doctor, the latter of which also featured Dot Branning.
 * This is also one of many crossovers with Sherlock Holmes, the first being All-Consuming Fire.
 * Among all of Sprout Boy's party guests are Sherlock Holmes, John Watson, Mary Berry, John Luther, Dot Branning, Graham Norton, Tess Daly, Claudia Winkleman, and will.i.am.

Alternative version

 * In another version, Sprout Boy is writing out a Christmas tag on a present for the Twelfth Doctor.

Continuity

 * Dot Branning is among the partygoers. (TV: Dermot and the Doctor)