Based in London, Darrall Macqueen is an award-winning independent production company with an impressive pedigree, including an Emmy nomination and multiple BAFTAs. It was established in 2000 by ex-Disney execs Billy Macqueen and Maddy Darrall. We had the pleasure of chatting with Creative Producer Lily Brooks about the latest BBC CBeebies fan-favorite, Waffle’s After School Club, and how Cast It Reach has made a difference in their casting process.
 

For those who don’t know, what is Waffle’s Afterschool Club?

 
Waffle’s After School Club is a live-action sitcom for young children, starring Waffle the talking dog alongside well known characters Mr. Brooklyn-Bell and Mrs. Hobbs. Set in a lively after-school club, the series is packed with music, games, and messy mishaps, celebrating friendship and the joy of trying new things. A spin-off from the popular Waffle the Wonder Dog, the show follows Waffle’s fun-filled adventures with his human friends in a brand-new club setting.
 
How has Cast It Reach helped the team at Darrall Macqueen?

 
Cast It Reach has made our casting process an absolute dream. Having a centralised, secure platform means we can easily collect, organise, and review thousands of applications in one place, while knowing all children’s data is safe and confidential. It streamlines our workflow and makes what could be an overwhelming process completely manageable. Cast It Reach is essential to how we cast.
 
What makes Cast It Reach work for you, versus a manual casting process?

 
Cast It Reach has saved us a significant amount of time and resources – the platform allows us to manage the entire kids casting process in one secure place. We can easily sort and filter applications by age and suitability, review submitted photos and videos, track where each child is in the casting journey, and communicate directly with parents/guardians and agents through the system. Just as importantly, we have confidence that children’s and families’ personal data is securely stored and only accessible to our casting team, which is essential when working with minors.
 
What could you not do without Cast It Reach?

 
We wouldn’t be able to manage such a high volume in such a short timeframe, which would have a significant impact on our schedule.
 
What has it been like to work with the Cast It Reach team?

 
Brilliant! The team consistently go above and beyond to ensure everything is set up efficiently, and they’re always on hand to answer any (many!) questions we have.
 
Would you recommend Cast It Reach to other production companies and studios?

 
Absolutely! It has become a vital system across all our productions, and we genuinely couldn’t imagine managing our casting process without it. It streamlines every stage of casting, saves time and resources, and provides a level of organisation and security that manual systems simply can’t match.