It’s hard to believe it’s 35 years since a plasticine man in a sweater and slippers, along with his voiceless, but hugely expressive dog, burst on to our screens and won the hearts of millions with their mix of humour, charm and nostalgia.

Wallace and Gromit managed to be both familiar and fresh, and their modest creator Nick Park couldn’t have foreseen how their handmade adventures would change the world of animation and make Wensleydale cheese internationally famous.

But three decades on and Preston-born Park is beginning to realise that his flair for feel-good filmmaking has made him a very big deal.

Oscar wins and box office hits aside, his latest accolade, in the Lancashire city where he was born and bred, clearly means a lot.

A new Wallace and Gromit exhibition is being showcased at the Harris Museum, which Park visited frequently growing up.

The historic landmark looms large over the city centre and is filled with artefacts and treasures that inspired him as a boy.

He was drawn to the library and devoured books on his favourite subject, you guessed it, animation.

The museum has been closed for four years as part of a £19m revamp. And who better to re-open it this weekend than Park.

As we meet at the exhibition, he tells me he was a quiet child who loved drawing. Visits to the museum helped shape his creativity and storytelling.

He said: “I used to love spending a day around here looking at all the artefacts, the paintings. I used to come to the library here, there was no internet, and so I would look for books on animation.

“I would scour the library for anything I could get my hands on.”

We chat in a life-size replica of Wallace and Gromit’s living room. The wallpaper, standing lamp and armchair are so familiar.

Park says it’s like sitting in one of his own sets.

The living room was actually based on his grandma’s house, which he describes as a cosy 1960s home. And as he sits in the chair with his cup of tea, he jokes that he’s now turned into Wallace.

He said: “I feel like I’m made of clay, sitting on a replica set, it’s just incredible.”

But that’s the joy of his films – the personal touch. And whilst they’re unmistakably Northern, inspired by Park’s family and upbringing, they’re also universally relatable.

He said: “I used to draw from my own childhood a lot, and that’s what inspired me. Because it feels true to do that.

“So, I went to memories of my granny, the lamp stand that my granny had and other objects, toasters, clocks, you name it.”

Park is now arguably as famous as his much-loved characters. Something he seems to be finally getting used to.

He says he’s honoured and a little overwhelmed that his hometown holds him and his clay creations so close to his heart.

He said: “I was a shy teenager, and just talking about this hobby, I never imagined they would become household names.

“So, to have statues of my characters in the centre of town and now to be opening this newly refurbished exhibition and my own exhibition. To be here with my own characters, it’s just crazy.”

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I ask what this stop motion supremo makes of the use of AI and technology in film.

He said: “We need to hang onto our values, there’s something about handmade quality that gives everything charm and appeal.

“It would probably be wrong to completely ignore that.”

The exhibition is immersive and emotive. Being up close and personal with the models, drawings, and characters evokes the same feelings as the films do. Warmth, humour and nostalgia.

A journey through the formative years of a young filmmaker and the birth of one of cinema’s unlikeliest heroes.

Park is now inspiring the next generation of storytellers and filmmakers at the museum, which played such an important part in his own success story.

Wallace and Gromit in A Case at the Museum Exhibition opens on Sunday and runs until January.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — On the field, Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen complement one another out of the Nittany Lions’ backfield like a scoop of cookies-n-cream from Penn State‘s Berkey Creamery.

Off the field, the star rushing duo and longtime roommates see few differences. They’re both quiet, soft-spoken and football junkies.

“He’s like my twin,” Allen said. “We down near like the same person, just in different bodies.”

In their final season together, the two seniors have an opportunity to make history — in multiple ways.

According to ESPN Research, Singleton and Allen are the first Power 4 running back duo to each rush for 750-plus yards in three consecutive seasons since at least 1996. (Indiana’s Antwaan Randle El and Levron Williams matched the feat from 1999-2001, but Randle El was a quarterback).

Singleton and Allen are well on their way to making it a fourth straight year.

Allen has rushed for 273 yards while averaging 8.0 yards per carry; Singleton is at 179 yards and 4.4. The two have combined for eight touchdowns.

Even more impressively, each is within striking distance of breaking Penn State’s career rushing record.

“Penn State’s got an unbelievable history at the running back position,” Nittany Lions coach James Franklin said of an illustrious alumni group that includes reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year Saquon Barkley, Pro Football Hall of Famer Franco Harris and 1995 No. 1 draft pick Ki-Jana Carter. “Great, great players. And yet these guys have shared carries their entire careers. … So that’s a crazy stat.”

Evan Royster (2007-10) holds the record with 3,932 yards. Barkley is second at 3,843. Allen (3,150) and Singleton (3,091) are each within 900 yards of passing Royster with nine regular-season games left.

“Finishing 1 and 2 at Penn State would be crazy,” Singleton said. “We want to leave here with a legacy. But our [main] goal is to win a national championship.”

Penn State hasn’t won a national championship since 1986.

But with a backfield featuring Singleton, Allen and veteran quarterback Drew Allar, the Nittany Lions believe this is the year they can finally get over the hump.

On Saturday, with ESPN’s “College GameDay” in town, No. 3 Penn State faces sixth-ranked Oregon before a prime-time “White Out” crowd (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC) with a golden opportunity to jump-start its title quest.

“This is going to be a statement game for our season,” Allen said.

Statements have eluded the Nittany Lions in recent history. Singleton and Allen each rushed for more than 100 yards in last year’s Big Ten title game, but the Ducks prevailed 45-37.

The Nittany Lions still made the College Football Playoff.

But under Franklin, Penn State is 4-20 against AP top-10 opponents. Singleton and Allen have only two career wins against top-10 teams — Utah in the Rose Bowl following the 2022 season and Boise State in last year’s CFP quarterfinals.

After falling in the CFP semifinals on Notre Dame’s game-winning field goal to end their junior seasons, Singleton and Allen both considered leaving for the NFL draft. Multiple NFL scouts told ESPN last winter that they viewed the two backs as potential second- or third-round picks.

But neither wanted to end their college careers on such a crushing loss. They also wanted one more season playing and living alongside one another.

“We both came in together,” Singleton said. “Now, we want to finish this off the right way.”

Allen and Singleton first met during a recruiting visit in 2021 when Penn State played Auburn. Because neither talks much, it took time for them to get to know one another well. But while vying for carries as freshmen, the two developed a friendship — instead of a rivalry.

“It was never about trying to go against each other,” Allen said. “We were both trying to take advantage of our opportunities, helping each other out and pushing one another. That’s my brother. We’ve both just been trying to help each other reach our goals.”

When Singleton found a new two-bed apartment before their sophomore season, he asked Allen to room with him.

Now, the two are virtually inseparable.

They claim that they’ve never had a fight or argument. They’re both neat and so low-key, they never bother one another. They also share almost everything, including groceries.

“He’s such a humble guy, a really good roommate and an even better person,” Singleton said. “I can go talk to him about anything. … And he makes sure he does everything right.”

They’ve also made each other better players, keeping one another fresh late in games and late in the season. Combined, they’ve missed only one game – Singleton against UCLA last year.

“The season is long,” Singleton said. “A lot of running backs are getting 20-30 carries a game and they take a beating. We split carries and that keeps us healthy.”

Their complementary skill sets have also given Penn State one of the nation’s most effective rushing attacks. Since they arrived in 2022, the Nittany Lions rank ninth among Power 4 teams in rushing yards per game (190.6) and fourth in yards per rush after contact (3.07).

Singleton and Allen see themselves as college football’s version of Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery, who powered the Detroit Lions to a 15-2 record and top seed in the NFC last year.

Like Gibbs, Singleton brings the speed, with reliable hands to haul in passes out of the backfield. Like Montgomery, Allen brings the power, with the vision to exploit open running lanes between the tackles. Franklin said the “combination” of what they can do is what makes them “such a problem” for defenses.

“Nick has been one of the most consistent players in terms of his preparation that I’ve been around,” Franklin said. “Kaytron is faster, stronger and more explosive than he’s ever been.”

In turn, Singleton and Allen have given the Nittany Lions reason to believe this could finally be their season — and make this one final ride even more special.

“We ain’t never going to get this moment back,” Allen said. “So we’re just trying to make the most of it.”

A nursery worker who mistreated 21 children in her care, including kicking one boy in the face, has been jailed for eight years.

Roksana Lecka was caught on CCTV pinching, punching and kicking her victims while working at the now closed Riverside Nursery in Twickenham, southwest London.

The 22-year-old was also seen aggressively covering a young boy’s mouth as he started to cry, in a pattern of behaviour described as “exceptional cruelty”. In one incident, she kicked a little boy in the face several times.

Lecka, of Hounslow, had previously pleaded guilty to seven counts of cruelty towards a person under the age of 16.

A jury at Kingston Crown Court convicted her of another 14 counts in June following a trial. She was found not guilty of three further counts of child cruelty.

Metropolitan Police detectives reviewed CCTV from a number of days in June 2024 that showed her pinching and scratching children under their clothes – on their arms, legs and stomachs.

Several of the children were seen being pinched dozens of times over the course of a day. Most cried and flinched away from Lecka.

Lecka could be seen vaping in another clip before taking a baby from a crib, who she was later filmed pinching and punching her side.

Several parents of the children who had been under Lecka’s care reported unusual injuries and bruising in March and May 2024.

When footage of the incidents was played in court, there were gasps from parents in the public gallery – some who were watching it for the first time.

Other instances of abuse included kicking a child who was on the floor, pushing children headfirst over cots, shoving a child onto a mattress in a sleep room, and aggressively covering a toddler’s mouth as he started to cry.

Parents call Lecka ‘worst kind of human’

Giving victim impact statements to the court, the parents of the children described Lecka as the “worst kind of human”.

And handing down a sentence, Judge Sarah Plaschkes KC told her: “You committed multiple acts of gratuitous violence.”

After describing the violence against the children, she added: “When you committed these acts of cruelty, you would look at the other members of staff to make sure that they were not watching you.

“Often the child would be quietly and happily minding its own business before you deliberately inflicted pain, causing the child to cry, arch, try to get away or writhe around in distress.

“Time after time, you calmly watched the pain and suffering you have caused. Your criminal conduct can properly be characterised as sadistic.”

Lawyers call for ‘further answers’ on abuse

Jemma Till, the expert lawyer at Irwin Mitchell representing families, said after sentencing that Lecka “abused her position of trust in cruellest way over a number of months”.

She then said that “serious questions remain as to how Lecka’s abuse was allowed to go unchecked for several months”, before adding: “Our focus is now on securing families, who will continue to be affected by Lecka’s actions for years to come, with the further answers they deserve.”

The parents of a child that Lecka admitted to assaulting also said through the law firm that “trying to come to terms with what our child suffered, has been incredibly difficult”.

“Whilst we’re relieved Lecka has been stopped and dealt with by the courts, the effects of what happened still impact on our family,” they said.

“We’re now nervous about letting our child out of our sight and into the care of others, a position no parent should find themselves in.”

Lecka ‘didn’t appear bothered’ during questioning

The Metropolitan Police noted that one of the charges against Lecka related to an incident at Little Munchkins in Hounslow, and said she appeared “visibly bored” during a police interview.

Detective Inspector Sian Hutchings, the senior investigating officer in the case, told the PA news agency that the former nursery worker has “never given any explanation for her behaviour and what she’s done”.

During Lecka’s police interview, she gave no comment answers and “didn’t appear bothered by the seriousness of the allegations”, Ms Hutchings said.

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Gemma Burns, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said in a statement after sentencing that Lecka “repeatedly showed exceptional cruelty in her appalling treatment of these babies”.

She said: “No parent should have to fear leaving their child in the care of professionals, but the sheer scale of her abuse is staggering.

“Lecka was placed in a position of trust and her job required her to provide safety and protection.”