A NORTH-EAST animation company has been commissioned by the BBC to work on a second series of a cult comedy programme.

Qurios Entertainment provided graphics and visual effects for the first series of sci-fi BBC show Hyperdrive.

Now, the Hartlepool company is preparing for further growth after being commissioned for the second round of programmes.

Qurios provided 343 separate shots for the futuristic six-part series which took five months to complete, and has already been sold to TV networks around the world including the US, Germany and Australia.

Niel Bushnell, managing director of Qurios - which has also worked on BBC drama Spooks and the Harry Potter and Reservoir Dogs computer games - said: "Working on Hyperdrive again was a labour of love. We think the show is great and can't wait to see it all put together for the new series.

"It was a lot of hard work with many trips to the studios in London, but we really enjoyed it."

The Qurios team won the Professional Excellence in Animation Award at the Royal Television Society Awards earlier this year, were recipients of the Service Award at the Hartlepool Business Awards, and were shortlisted for Business of the Year.