David Sproxton
David Sproxton (born 1954) is a British producer who co-founded Aardman AnimationsAardman AnimationsAardman Animations is an animation company based in Bristol, England, founded by Peter Lord and David Sproxton and known for stop-motion works such as Morph, Wallace & Gromit, Chicken Run and Shaun the Sheep. It has won four Academy Awards, and since 2018 an employee ownership trust has held a majority of its shares.Open the full entry with Peter Lord and long served as a director and secretary of the company, working on Morph and Chicken Run. In 2018 the two transferred a majority stake to an employee trust, and in 2026 he was knighted.
Contents17 sections
Key facts
January 1954Birth
David Alan Sproxton was born in January 1954 and is British.[1]
1976–1977Making Morph
He made the clay character Morph with Peter Lord; at first the two did all the filming, camera work and model making.[2]
1991Company Secretary of Aardman
By August 31, 1991, he was company secretary of Aardman Animations Limited, and from December 18, 1991, also of Aardman Holdings Limited.[3]
1994Bristol Old Vic Trust
From September 8, 1994, to March 29, 2004, he was a director of the Bristol Old Vic and Theatre Royal Trust.[3]
2000Producer of Chicken Run
He was a producer of the feature film Chicken Run (2000), alongside Peter Lord and Nick ParkNick ParkNick Park (Nicholas Wulstan Park) is a British stop-motion animation director, a director of Aardman Animations, and the creator of Wallace & Gromit and Shaun the Sheep. He has won four Academy Awards, for Creature Comforts, The Wrong Trousers, A Close Shave and The Curse of the Were-Rabbit.Open the full entry.[4]
2002–2015Film Boards
He was a director of the National Film and Television School from December 3, 2002, to June 9, 2015, and of the UK Film Council from October 20, 2004, to October 19, 2008.[3]
June 17, 2006Appointed CBE
September 21, 2006Director of We The Curious
From September 21, 2006, to June 16, 2025, he was a director of We The Curious Limited.[1]
June 4, 2007US Creature Comforts Premieres
CBSCBSCBS is an American commercial broadcast television network. It was founded in 1927 as United Independent Broadcasters, renamed the Columbia Broadcasting System in 1928, and grew from a radio network into a television network under William S. Paley. With ABC and NBC it is one of the three traditional U.S. broadcast networks; it has been owned in turn by Westinghouse, Viacom, ViacomCBS and Paramount Global, has been owned by Paramount Skydance Corporation since 2025, and is one of the five networks that rotate in the White House television pool.Open the full entry premiered the American version of Creature Comforts on June 4, 2007, with him, Nick Park and Peter Lord among the executive producers.[7]
2016Aardman’s 40th Anniversary
In Aardman’s 40th-anniversary year he and Peter Lord looked back on the studio’s history in a joint Q&A. On Shaun the SheepShaun the SheepShaun the Sheep is a stop-motion animated character and franchise produced by the British studio Aardman Animations. Shaun first appeared in the 1995 Wallace & Gromit short A Close Shave, and a television series has run since 2007, followed by feature films, specials, spin-off series and live shows.Open the full entry he said the team always wondered, “can you do it without dialog?”; he also said a shortfall in UK animation training persisted.[8]
November 2018Sale of Shares to an Employee Trust
In November 2018 he and Peter Lord sold 75% of their shares to a trust holding them for the benefit of Aardman’s employees, making the company employee-owned.[9]
December 17, 2019Moves to the Trustee Board
On December 17, 2019, he resigned as a director of Aardman Animations Limited and other companies and became a director of Aardman Employee Ownership Trustee Limited.[1]
August 8, 2024Bristol Bike Project
From August 8, 2024, he has been a director of Bristol Bike Project CIC.[1]
June 13, 2026Knighted
In the 2026 King’s Birthday Honours he was made a Knight Bachelor as co-founder and trustee of Aardman Animations, for services to the animation industry, the creative industries and charity.[10]
In a joint statement with Peter Lord he called the honour “an extraordinary privilege and an honour – as well as a complete and utter surprise,” crediting the many people who had worked at Aardman over its 50 years.[11]
September 2026Aardman at 50
In September 2026 Aardman said its 50th anniversary was first and foremost a tribute to Sir Peter LordPeter Lord (animator)Peter Lord (born 1953) is a British animation director and producer and a co-founder of Aardman Animations. He created the clay character Morph with David Sproxton, co-directed Chicken Run with Nick Park, received three Oscar nominations and was knighted in 2026.Open the full entry and Sir David Sproxton, whose vision had been the foundation for everything since 1976.[12]
Related Organizations, Websites, and Public Accounts
Aardman Animations: Official website: https://www.aardman.com/ (opens in a new window)[13]
Sources
- David Alan SPROXTON (opens in a new window)
- Morph | Aardman (opens in a new window)
- David Alan SPROXTON (opens in a new window)
- Chicken Run (2000) (opens in a new window)
- THE LONDON GAZETTE SATURDAY 17 JUNE 2006 SUPPLEMENT No. 1 (opens in a new window)
- THE LONDON GAZETTE SATURDAY 17 JUNE 2006 SUPPLEMENT No. 1 (opens in a new window)
- American Version of Creature Comfort Premieres on CBS (opens in a new window)
- Aardman Animations Co-Founders Talk ‘Early Man,’ ‘Shaun the Sheep’ and Their Swashbuckling Near-Miss (Q&A) (opens in a new window)
- Aardman appoints Caroline Norbury OBE as new Chair of Trustees (opens in a new window)
- BIRTHDAY HONOURS LIST—UNITED KINGDOM (opens in a new window)
- Aardman Co-Founders Peter Lord and David Sproxton Knighted in King's Birthday Honours (opens in a new window)
- Aardman: 50 Years of Clay (opens in a new window)
- Home | Aardman (opens in a new window)