ANOTHER Warburtons' bread advertisement was launched on television this week featuring a "new" Young Derrick played by seven-year-old Daniel Thomas LLoyd from Horwich

The appealing 30-second slot features Derrick - supposedly Mr Derrick Warburton as a schoolboy - showing the pulling power of Warburtons' bread for hungry ducks.

Another advertisement has Derrick catching trout with bread as bait.

It's a concept that encapsulates the thinking behind the Warburtons' adverts which have been notable for their warmth and humour.

Warburtons' joint managing director Jonathan Warburton and his sister Jill Kippax the firm's public relations manager explained that they wanted to stress the family aspect of the Bolton firm.

"We wanted our adverts to be different," Jonathan said. " And at first we convinced our dad and mother - Derrick and Joyce Warburton - to appear."

A series of advertisements featured Derrick's early school life, Derrick and Joyce in their teens and a young Derrick and his mother at the canal feeding the ducks.

This last nostalgic scene was very popular and was occasionally screened until recently.

The idea for the current advertisements came from letters received at the firm.

"Somebody wrote and said that he was catching more fish using our bread than his fellow fishers with other bait," Jonathan explained.

But who was to play the Young Derrick? More than 1,500 boys auditioned in Manchester last March.

Eventually Daniel, a pupil at Stagecoach, the Bolton-based performing arts school, was chosen.

"Not only is he a local lad but he attends Bolton School's Beech House School, which Jill and I attended," Jonathan said.

On location, it certainly wasn't Daniel who was any trouble for the director. The ducks were not so amenable.

Getting them to fly together in one direction posed a problem. But various tricks of the trade were used and the birds are captured on camera all heading for Daniel. Six hundred ducks were bought for the sequence. Underwater cameras were used to film the fish at a trout farm.

Altogether 40 film crew were used and it took six days to complete the filming.

"I rejected 30 scripts before we arrived at these," Jonathan said.

A series of 10-second slots will also feature Daniel as Young Derrick.

Daniel's mother, Jackie said: "He has always shown an interest in acting. I knew Denise Baglow who started Stagecoach locally and decided to send Daniel."

Once Daniel was chosen for the Warburtons' adverts, Jackie went with him for two days on location in Surrey, but after that he was looked after by chaperones.

"He was very keen and loved it all," Jackie said.

Despite his devotion to acting, Daniel still finds time to play football, ride and ski.

"I don't know how his friends will react to the commercialis It will be interesting to see," Jackie said.

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