From the Fest: Aardman: 50 More Years of Clay

Available: Fri 13 Nov - Mon 30 Nov 2026

MAF’s Steve Henderson in conversation with Aardman co-founder Sir Peter Lord, Creative Director - Development IP Natalie McKay and Head of Studio - Aardman Academy Will Becher, discussing 50 years of Aardman and what’s next for the studio.

This event was pre-recorded during MAF 2026.

This event is supported by:

Guests

Sir Peter Lord

Sir Peter Lord is Co-founder of Aardman. He co-founded Aardman with his long-time collaborator, Sir David Sproxton, in 1976. As a director, Lord has been honoured with two Academy Award ® nominations for Best Animated Short, the first in 1992 for Adam, and for Wat’s Pig in 1996, and Best Animated Feature for Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists in 2013. He has also earned BAFTA nominations for Adam, The Amazing Adventures of Morph, War Story and Chicken Run and, as a producer for Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit.

Will Becher

Will started at Aardman as a teenager on a summer placement, making clay wings for Chicken Run. After graduating he was invited by Nick Park to animate on Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, becoming one of the youngest feature animators in the studio's history.

Natalie McKay

Natalie McKay is a Creative Director at Aardman. She is responsible for providing creative and strategic support across the company’s known IP as well as developing future content. She supports Aardman’s vast slate on key productions from inception, through the production and then to their life beyond. Natalie joined Aardman in 2019 and before that worked at The Walt Disney Company for several years as part of their Disney Channels team. Before getting into the wonderful world of animation, she began her career working in Documentaries and Factual TV.