Arrow making aeroplane recycling special for C4

UK broadcaster Channel 4 has ordered Kevin and the Mechanibals (WT), a one-off special in which Kevin McCloud (Grand Designs) will challenge three designers to make an array of new products from an Airbus A320 aeroplane.

The ‘up-cycling’ challenge involves using every part of the plane, leaving only an empty aeroplane hangar.

The show marks another commission for UK indie producer Arrow Media, which has had a raft of programmes greenlit in recent months including two other one-off plane docs Mayday: The Passenger Who Landed a Plane for Channel 4 and Plane Jumbo – The Plane That Changed the World for BBC Two in the UK, Discovery in Canada and Smithsonian in the US.

Jill Fullerton-Smith and John Hay commissioned Kevin and the Mechanibals for Channel 4. It wll air on the channel at the end of April.

Tom Brisley, joint creative director at Arrow Media, will executive produce the series said: “We knew that finding ways of keeping the spirit of the plane alive in redesigned pieces, as well as reducing Britain’s waste, would inspire designer and champion of recycling, Kevin McCloud into action.”