5 ON THE FARM
Udderly great Isla Miskelly, director of Showrunner Productions, and Carl Bathgate, director of Ghostwriter Consultancy and Events, produced and promoted Channel 5’s new 5 On The Farm festival
S
tars of Channel 5’s hit TV programmes – Our Yorkshire Vet, This Week on the Farm and Milkshake! – took to the stage in Barnsley last month and welcomed thousands of visitors to 5 On The Farm, a new three-day festival that celebrated the network’s muchloved shows. When the festival was launched in December 2020, Ben Frow, director of programmes for ViacomCBS’ UK networks, said that the festival gave the media giant a new way to connect with its audiences. It was a vehicle; 5 On The Farm would provide audiences with more opportunities to engage
with their favourite programmes and screen stars. Ghostwriter Consultancy and Events and Showrunner Productions promoted, produced, and delivered the new festival, working together to create an event that brought TV audiences’ favourite shows and characters to life.
ADDING VALUE
The festival concept was developed 18 months ago and organised in just nine months. The biggest challenge was managing uncertainty and the ever-changing Government guidance and having to communicate changes to
48 n www.standoutmagazine.co.uk
customers as well as maintaining consumer confidence. But these were all elements that Ghostwriter and Showrunner took in their stride. Carl Bathgate, director of Ghostwriter Consultancy and Events, explained: “We were the promoter as well as the producer of the event and dealt with everything from developing the concept to marketing and production. “Whilst it wasn’t the easiest year to launch a festival, and this obviously brought its own set of unique challenges, we delivered a great event.” Isla Miskelly, director of Showrunner Productions,
concurred. Miskelly, former director of events and experience at ViacomCBS, formed Showrunner, a partnership with Ghostwriter, in March. She said: “It was important to us that we produced a real festival experience. Traditionally, the talent we work with attend country shows rather than a full live entertainment event. “Having produced the initial concept for Viacom and Channel 5, we were able to develop the event as we went through the process, adding value and experiences where we could and stripping out some elements that come 18 months from concept,
