Laois animator Seamus Malone wins RTS award for Shaun the Sheep

LAOIS animator Seamus Malone has won a prize at the Royal Television Society (RTS) West of England Awards 2026.

Seamus won in the Animation category alongside collaborators Danny Gallagher and Anna Leong Brophy. They were awarded for their work on the latest season of long-running CBBC show Shaun the Sheep.

Seamus has worked with Aardman Animations, creators of Shaun the Sheep, extensively since 1997. On the latest season, he functioned as series director and co-writer for the entire production.

He tells the Laois Nationalist that winning the prize is “a great honour”.

“I think I put a lot of myself into this series, my upbringing especially, so I'm very proud of this show and especially proud of the crew who brought it to life by pouring creativity, care, warmth and humour into every frame”.

Seamus told the Laois Nationalist earlier this month that his work on the latest season was influenced by childhood memories of Barrowhouse, Co. Laois.

“There's an episode called ‘Stuck in the Muck’, which I wrote”, he said. “It's about a tractor getting stuck and Shaun trying to help it out. Years ago, we had an old tractor that got stuck in a field. My dad went up to the neighbours’ and got a big chain and another tractor to try and help pull it out, and then that tractor got stuck as well.

“So, then there were two of them stuck, and we had to get a JCB to get them out, and it was kind of farcical, I suppose.” 

Seamus is also nominated for a TV BAFTA alongside Danny Gallagher and Anna Leong Brophy under the ‘Children’s Scripted’ category. The awards ceremony is due to take place 10 May. “I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed for that too”, he says.

The RTS West of England Awards 2026 took place on April 26th at the Theatre Royal, Bristol Old Vic, celebrating the work of the television community in the region.