IAIN LAUCHLAN is a privileged man. For he’s got a hotline to Santa. 

The actor and producer has been involved in creating amazing shows for children since the 1980s – from appearing on Play School to creating the Tweenies, to taking the pre-school fab four on tour and now taking advantage of modern technology to create his own shows on his own YouTube channel. 

At this time of year, he’s usually knee-deep in pantomime, writing and performing, but … well, coronavirus has changed that. And with theatres in Tier 3 and 4 restrictions forced to close there’s little chance of that changing this festive season. It means that Imagine Theatre, whom Iain works closely with, have been unable to stage any of its pantomimes this year. Its planned version of Beauty and the Beast has been postponed until next Christmas. 

To help bridge the gap, Iain has teamed up with Imagine to record Santa’s Christmas Rescue, a fun 35-minute show aimed at under-sevens. 

In it, two of Santa’s elves, plus Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, ask the audience to help them save Christmas by finding Santa and then helping him defrost. Set in his workshop, it’s a magical mixture of songs and entertainment that’s gentle and magical. 

REVIEW: What we made of Santa’s Christmas Rescue

Iain has written it and also appears as the big man himself. 

“I wanted it to be warm, and a little bit of fun for kids, I think it was well worth doing,” he says. 

“There’s five (theatre) shows in the series. I did that because when I was doing panto, you’d sometimes see little kids in the foyer, frightened because it was probably just a bit too much for them. I thought it was a shame because it’s probably the first time they’ve come to the theatre, a big dark room with lots of noise and the rest of it. 

“I thought, there’s got to be a way around this. What we need to do is to introduce them to theatre in a gentler way, get them used to being in a room with other people watching a show – something not quite so traumatic, something that’s absolutely written for them.”

And when Iain has been able to perform to an audience, Santa also appears in the foyer after the show to meet with children, hear their Christmas wishes and let them receive a small gift. It’s something that he adores. 

“It’s an experience for them and they’ll maybe remember that theatre is not a place to be frightened of,” he says. “The little ones are absolutely convinced that they’ve met Santa. 

“That’s what I love about that age group, they do get totally immersed in it. I mean, Rudolph’s just a puppet, but that’s not what he seems to them. The parents love watching the children get totally engrossed and chatting to Santa, having their photo with him. It’s just special and it’s a shame we’ve had to lose it this year.”

The compromise has been to film the show for people to stream at home, something Iain says is fantastic. “A streamed show can go far and wide. It can go to people in hospital, to people who can’t make it to the theatre, or can’t afford to come. Moving forward, I think we should be doing both (live shows and streamed). 

“It takes people a couple of years to maybe kind of use to (new technology) and let it become part of what they do. I mean, this year Zoom has just taken off completely. It’s brilliant that connectivity people seem to have. It’ll never replace hugging someone and meeting them in the flesh, but it’s a great substitute in this position we’re in at the moment.”

Iain says that he finds video calling very helpful, even dialling the North Pole to get some tips from Santa on how to portray him. 

“Absolutely, I had a few things to really learn about Santa to make sure I got him right,” he grins. 

Iain knows a thing or two about putting on a show at any time of year – not least as he helped his very own Fab Four enjoy sell-out arena tours to thousands of very happy children. But it all started with Play School, back in the 1980s. A presenter, he helped look through the windows for nine years. 

“It was a great grounding you know. It must have been the hardest thing I’ve ever done as it was so demanding and recorded as live,” he recalls. 

“We had to do five shows at a time, so there was quite a lot to learn if you had no autocue and had to tell a story to the camera or two stories, sometimes even a book to read and maybe 12 or 15 songs. We had lots of items to learn, so it was quite pressured.”

He admits, he hadn’t intended to become a presenter, instead wishing to be more of an actor, but it soon became a vocation. 

“When I started I was told you have to think about a four-year-old sitting on their own watching the programme. The more I did it, the more I realised that was a load of rubbish. This child is probably eating his breakfast, playing with toys or doing something and you have to grab their attention.”

A Scot, he admits that he had trouble getting parts when he moved south of the border in the early 1980s.

“I just missed out on a couple of really big things which would probably have changed my life,” he says. “But when I didn’t do as much drama (as I’d have liked) I decided to try presenting as I had a family and had to earn money.”

One thing led to another, including seeing the Play School expected to open summer fetes but “you didn’t get paid for it at that time, you just had to do it for free”. 

That led to Iain doing live theatre shows, which helped hone his skills: “It becomes pretty obvious when it’s working or not when you’re doing live stuff with kids,” Iain says. “But it’s a great thing to do, a great grounding for all I have today.” 

On television, Play School became Playdays, which Iain produced. Then, with Will Brenton, he devised The Tweenies, a monster hit for CBeebies – 390 episodes and last shown on television just four years ago. In addition to the television shows, Iain produced stage shows first for Playdays – launching a new way for audiences to interact with their favourite shows – opening at the Polka Theatre in Wimbledon, which is dedicated to children’s theatre. 

“It was a great success, and the BBC realised the power of bringing their audiences into a live show. It gave them more viewers too,” he explains.

When it came to the Tweenies, its success meant it was a natural progression to take the four outsized children on tour. But not in theatres. 

“I remember sitting in the room talking to BBC people and they wanted it to be a theatre tour. We said no, no, we want to do an arena tour. We’ve done so much theatre, let’s do something we’ve never done before – we knew how big the Tweenies was.”

Iain also had experience of the Care Bears, which had a live arena tour, playing the baddie Professor Coldheart at venues such as the NEC and ICC, so he knew that it was possible. The show was produced by a rock and pop promoter who had worked with people such as Tina Turner and Paul McCartney as well as these bears with icons on their tummies. 

“They were enormous shows – massive,” he recalls. “The kids just flocked to it and loved it, it was a big spectacle. When we did the Tweenies, we knew we had an audience, so we said let’s make it like a rock gig. 

“We got all the rock people involved in all the lighting, video and sound – we opened at Wembley Arena. I’ll never forget the first time. We had built the stage up and had lifts coming out on to the stage with the Tweenies coming on up – it was very rock and roll. 

“I was standing at the back of Wembley Arena as the Tweenies came up and I could not believe the roar of the 6,000 kids. It was just so worth it, it was brilliant, it was so good.”

And that led to more shows, including a Thomas The Tank Engine one where they managed to have real engines running through the arena, something Iain says was one of the best things he’s ever been involved in. Then no wonder: each show he does he wants to be bigger and better than the last one. 

“I’ve always said to anyone working with me, don’t ask me to revisit anything,” he says. “Let’s move on and do better or do differently because I think you’ve got to keep surprising the audience all the time. Whatever you’re doing, be it pantos or kids shows, the audience comes with an expectation of it, and I think you have to surpass that, you have to surprise them.”

So, today, Iain is continuing to surprise. In addition to his Santa shows and pantos, the ever-talented producer, presenter, actor and genius has his own YouTube station, Cheeky Chimps, showing a mixture of shows devised for youngsters based on decades of experience. 

He has created his own television studio, complete with greenscreen, to film the shows. Topics covered include crafts, science, magic, jokes, songs and stories. Some have audience interaction, and all are devised by Iain and his team, all using modern technology to create something special for children. 

“I spent years pitching things to the BBC, ITV, Disney and all the rest of it and (in the end) you just think to yourself, actually let’s cut out the middleman,” Iain says. 

There’s a poignant reason as well for Iain’s switch to doing it for himself. 

“In 2004, I lost my son in a car crash. He was 21,” Iain recalls. “I stood back from my production company. I must have lost about five years of my working life, it took such a long time (to start again). 

“When I came back, I looked at it and thought, my goodness, everybody’s still asking the same questions about how we’re going to monetise the internet, how will this work and so on. So, I decided to myself, I’m going to do my own thing, make my own programmes and put them on my own channel rather than go through all that again.”

It took three years to put things in place, and to ensure that the quality and standards was up there with the BBC. 

“I love the creative control I’ve got, it’s so empowering,” he says. “I know my boundaries and the responsibilities I’ve got, but I do enjoy the freedom of doing whatever it is we’re doing. 

As an example, in the new year, he’s planning to work with someone who has an idea for a puppet-based show. Iain will help them make two or three programmes so that he can then try and get the financial support needed to create the series. Another show he’s been working on involves animals and a grand piano. Thanks to modern greenscreen technology he’s been able to make 92 videos, which he’s hugely proud of. 

But for now, he’s basking in the glow of giving Santa a hand. And in these Covid-times, that’s a Christmas present in itself. 

Santa’s Christmas Rescue show can be watched via the Showcatcher app – https://showcatcher.com/show/31/santas-christmas-rescue

And there’s colouring-in sheets to download from What’s On Reading which Santa would love to see.

Tickets cost £5 for unlimited streams before Sunday, January 3, 2021. There is also an opportunity to make a £2.50 donation to the theatrical charity Acting For Others.