PRINCIPAL PHOTOGRAPHY, CAST, AND WRITERS ANNOUNCED FOR TWEEN SPY SERIES THE LADY GRACE MYSTERIES
Produced by Cottonwood Media and Coolabi Productions in co-production with ZDF Studios for BBC Children’s and Education, ZDF and France Télévisions
France/United Kingdom/Germany – Thursday 10th April 2025 – Premium kids content producer Cottonwood Media, kids content creator Coolabi Productions, and ZDF Studios, along with leading broadcasters BBC Children’s and Education, ZDF, and France Télévisions announce principal photography, casting, and writing team for the new tween drama spy series THE LADY GRACE MYSTERIES. Federation Kids & Family and ZDF Studios are handling worldwide sales.
THE LADY GRACE MYSTERIES which targets 8 – 12-year-olds, is set in the British court of Queen Elizabeth I, and blends the magic of the historical Elizabethan Golden Age with contemporary teenage life.
Principal photography will commence in Brussels on the 14th of April, later moving to County Durham in the UK as of May (filming in and around the location’s stunning medieval castles).
THE LADY GRACE MYSTERIES welcomes newcomer Evie Coles as lead protagonist ‘Lady Grace Cavendish’, Queen Elizabeth’s lady-in-waiting. She is joined by Carys John (Malory Towers, The Last Bus) as Ellie Bunting, and Rafael Alessandro as Masou, who play her best friends in court. The series also stars Fintan Buckard (Phoenix Rise) as Grace’s love interest Lord Osborne, Twinkle Jaiswal (Malory Towers) as Lady Sarah, and Rebecca Scott (Game of Thrones) as Queen Elizabeth.
Lead Director (and MD, Cottonwood Media Ltd) Alexander Jacob is joined by Episodic Director Louise Ni Fhiannachta (Flatmates, Silverpoint).
The stellar writing team is led by Emmy Award-winning Anna McCleery (NETFLIX’s Free Rein, A Kind of Spark for CBBC/BYU, Hollyoaks for C4) who is joined by Joe Williams (Theodosia, Hank Zipzer), Vicki Lutas (Free Rein), Jayshree Patel (Waterloo Road) and Karissa Hamilton-Bannis (Hollyoaks).
THE LADY GRACE MYSTERIES (10 x 24’) is a Cottonwood Media and Coolabi Group production, in co-production with ZDF Studios. The series is commissioned by Children’s and Education (for BBCiPlayer and CBBC) and ZDF, with a pre-sale to France Télévisions. Federation Kids & Family and ZDF Studios are handling worldwide sales.
THE LADY GRACE MYSTERIES is based on the children’s detective fiction novels of the same name which first published in 2004. Their immense popularity led to the publication of 12 titles in the series, multiple international editions, and over 300,000 books sold worldwide.
THE LADY GRACE MYSTERIES tells the story of Lady Grace Cavendish, the world’s first female teenage detective working as a private spy for Queen Elizabeth I who navigates the dangerous waters of royal politics in an English court full of plots, threats and mystery. Grace has spent her youth outwitting palace guards, avoiding the responsibilities of being a lady-in-waiting, and most importantly, finessing the fine art of swiping jam tarts! With her best friends – the savvy Ellie, and the dazzling performer Masou at her side - she must deal with the trials and tribulations of being a teenage girl, while investigating perilous mysteries.
Sarah Muller, Senior Head of Children’s Commissioning 7+ for BBC Children’s and Education said: “Lady Grace is the ultimate tween spy who our young audience will love. Unveiling the new cast and creatives leading the production is one step closer to seeing these much-loved stories of intrigue and mystery come to life on screen.”
Nicole Keeb, Head of International Co-productions and Acquisitions, Children and Youth programs, ZDF, commented: "We are delighted to be part of this new adventure with Cottonwood: THE LADY GRACE MYSTERIES will fit perfectly into our portfolio of high quality live action series. We cannot wait to get the show on air.”
Arne Lohmann, VP Junior, ZDF Studios said: “I am thrilled to be continuing our successful relationship with Cottonwood. I believe THE LADY GRACE MYSTERIES will be as successful as FIND ME IN PARIS, SPELLBOUND and THEODOSIA. We instantly fell in love with the series and are sure that a worldwide audience will soon feel the same!”
Claire Heinrich, Head of Acquisitions, Children’s & Youth, France Télévisions added: "We're delighted to continue our partnership with Cottonwood Media with this new project, which has all the ingredients to appeal to the older fringe of Okoo's audience. The historical context of Elizabeth I's royal court, with its many possibilities for intrigue, is a sumptuous setting for the breathless adventures of Lady Grace, a determined and inspiring teenager who also finds herself confronted with very contemporary issues, all with a resolutely modern tone."
Manon Ardisson, Head of Drama, Cottonwood Media said:“This series will offer a fun, modern and light-hearted take on the Golden Age of Elizabeth I: our characters and their stories are completely relatable for kids today, but the unique setting allows us to showcase extraordinary costumes and stunning historical locations that will draw audiences in from the get-go.”
Co-founders of Cottonwood Media, David Michel, Cécile Laurenson, and Zoé Carrera Allaix said: “Cottonwood has specialised in creating numerous cinematic styled TV series for the tween demographic working with great partners as ZDF and France Télévisions. It’s a pleasure now to also join forces with the BBC and Coolabi to embark on this exciting production that explores themes of friendship, mystery and romance, but with unexpected twists and turns.”
Michael Dee, Director Coolabi Productions and Chris Snowdon, Director of IP Creation and MD, Working Partners said: “We couldn’t be happier with the scripts, the casting, the locations and the designs, everything that is being done to bring our “Lady Grace Mysteries” book series to the screen. The Production team are creating a wonderful television series that reflects the lives of contemporary teens within the challenges and intrigue of the Elizabethan court.”
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About ZDF (Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen): ZDF is Germany’s national public television broadcaster and has been broadcasting since 1st April 1963. It also operates two thematic channels ZDFneo and ZDFInfo. In partnership with other public broadcasters, ZDF jointly operates the internet-only offer funk, the German channels PHOENIX and KIKA, and the European channels 3sat and ARTE. The corporation has a permanent staff of 3,600 plus a similar number of freelancers. Since March 2022, ZDF has been headed by Director-General Norbert Himmler. ZDF is based in Mainz, but also maintains permanent bureaus in the 16 Länder capitals as well as special editorial and production facilities in Berlin. For international coverage, ZDF has foreign correspondents operating in 19 permanent bureaus worldwide. ZDF offers full-range generalist programming with a mix of information, education, arts, entertainment and sports. Its coverage provides both a broad view on the world and a comprehensive picture of Germany and, in this way, ZDF strives to offer the highest possible public service value. www.zdf.de
About Cottonwood Media:: Cottonwood Media (a subsidiary of Federation Studios and part of its kids’ division Federation Kids & Family) was founded by David Michel, Zoé Carrera Allaix and Cécile Laurenson. Cottonwood Media creates, produces, and invests in premium talent-driven content with a focus on bringing together North American and European audiences on both linear and non-linear platforms. In 2015 Cottonwood Media partnered with Federation Studios to create Federation Kids & Family, a global distribution division which distributes original content and third party acquisitions. Based in Paris and Berlin, with offices in Los Angeles and Toronto, Cottonwood’s productions include live-action series such as Circuit Breakers (sci-fi for Apple TV), Spellbound (ballet/witchcraft), Theodosia (period Egyptology/adventure) nominated for Rockie Award 2025, Find Me in Paris (time-travelling ballet themed, airing in over 90 territories), animated feature film Around the World in 80 Days distributed by Studio Canal (#1 French movie in Box office international in 2021), and animated series 20 Dance Street (dramedy/ballet), The Ollie and Moon Show (pre-school), and the wacky comedy Squish (6-10 yrs). https://cottonwood.tv/
About Coolabi Group: We are a global leader in the creation of fiction for children and Young Adult and an award-winning creator of TV and digital content for children and family. Warrior Cats, Beast Quest and Rainbow Magic are but three of more than 200 series and 2,000+ book titles we have created and licensed to publishers through our book business, Working Partners. We add 60/70 new titles to our catalogue every year. Licensed in over 40 languages, lifetime sales across our list exceeds 200 million copies. Coolabi Productions is the production arm of Coolabi Group that develops and produces our book IP with TV partners. Clangers, Scream Street and Poppy Cat are part of our existing hit television portfolio: developed and produced in-house, and licensed in over 140 countries. Warrior Cats and Beast Quest feature in our fast-growing digital arm: app downloads currently stand at over 20 million. Our Warrior Cats Roblox game has been played 500 million+ times, whilst Warrior Cats UGC animation has over half-a-billion YouTube views and viewed on TikTok almost two billion times. www.coolabi.com
About ZDF Studios: ZDF Studios is a commercial subsidiary of ZDF, one of the largest TV broadcasters in Europe. Founded in 1993 and headquartered in Mainz, Germany, the ZDF Studios Group operates more than 30 direct and indirect subsidiaries and affiliates in Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom spanning TV production, distribution and services. The parent company, ZDF Studios, is responsible for global programme distribution, realisation of international co-productions, acquisition of licences and merchandising of successful programme brands under its own name, for ZDF and third parties. ZDF Studios has the largest German-language programme inventory in the world and a constantly growing range of international productions, consisting of series and mini-series, television films, documentaries and children's programmes. The companies of the ZDF Studios Group cover the entire value chain from the development of scripted and unscripted TV content to production, marketing and monetizing, including TV and streaming licences as well as merchandising and online rights. The positioning of ZDF Studios as an integrated media company enables the development of innovative, outstanding and high-quality programmes and makes the Group an attractive workplace for German and international talent to flourish in a very inspiring and creative environment.www.zdf-studios.com
About France TV: First French media, France Télévisions offers 6,600 hours of children and youth programs on linear France Télévisions channels, the platform kids Okoo and the platform France.tv Slash for young adults.
About Federation Kids & Family: Federation Kids & Family is a global kids’ content producer and distributor, and a division of Federation Studios, a leading global media powerhouse specializing in high-end international programming. Federation Kids & Family distributes premium original content featuring animated series and specials, as well as talent-driven live action drama series. Titles include LIVE ACTION tween series such as the K-pop inspired coming-of-age dramedy Gangnam Project, the global hit Find Me in Paris (ballet/time travel), Spellbound (witchcraft/ballet), Theodosia (period Egyptology-themed), ANIMATION series such Simon Super Rabbit (hit preschool long-running series), Monster Shaker, The New Adventures of the Triplets, The Ollie and Moon Show, Squish, Presto! School of Magic, and DOCU-STYLE series Let’s Dance, to name a few. Federation Kids & Family also focuses on building strategic partnerships and alliances with major international companies and broadcasters. https://federationstudios.com/genre/kids/
For media enquiries please contact:
Cottonwood Media
Céline Xerri-Brook celine@magena-media.com Tel: +44 (0)7957 334228
Valérie Tailland Valerie.tailland@fedent.com Tel: +33 (6) 82 57 06 09
ZDF Studios
Christine Denilauler Christine.Denilauler@zdf-studios.com