Author and illustrator Liz Pichon is gearing up for a packed autumn in which the 20th instalment of her Tom Gates series will be published, a Halloween TV special aired and the official BBC Children in Need T-shirt she designed is launched.

Liz said: “The thrill of seeing a book published never stops – even after 20 Tom Gates books! I hope children enjoy reading Tom Gates: Happy to Help (Eventually) as much as I did writing and illustrating it.

“It was an honour to design 2022’s iconic BBC Children in Need T-shirt and I want children to add their own doodles to it too. I know my talented creative readers are going to enjoy ‘The Brilliant World of Tom Gates’ Halloween TV special that I co-wrote, and sing along to the spooky song my music producer husband Mark and I wrote. It’s a super busy time and I’m loving every minute.”

Last week, BBC Children in Need and George at Asda announced a collaboration with Pichon to create this year’s official T-shirt, which will raise money for the charity. The unisex T-shirt features Children in Need’s Pudsey character in Pichon’s signature doodle style. As part of the collaboration, Pichon visited Crawley Community Youth Services, a project funded by BBC Children in Need and delivered a doodling workshop. 

On 24th October, Sky will air a Halloween special of "The Brilliant World of Tom Gates" from TG Entertainment. Pichon, who stars in the series and writes the popular songs, also shows fans how to doodle their own special zombie mask.

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Author: Tom Gates HQ
Date: October 2022

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