Grandad’s bedtime story… for 4,000 online pals! Account manager reads to his grandchildren via laptop during coronavirus lockdown – and now he’s a hit with thousands of families on Facebook
- Gavin Elliott, 44, has an audience of around 4,000 children listening to him read
- He read to grandchildren Poppy-Rose, four, Skyla-Rae, two, and Oscar-James
- The account manager from Denby, Derbyshire, has read around 70 books
- Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19
Unable to visit his three grandchildren due to the lockdown, Gavin Elliott decided to post videos of himself reading bedtime stories for them online.
But his audience soon grew to around 4,000 after word about the recordings on Facebook spread among friends and relatives and beyond.
The 44-year-old account manager said he came up with the idea because he was missing reading to his grandchildren Poppy-Rose, four, Skyla-Rae, two, and 18-month-old Oscar-James.
Grandfather Gavin Elliott, 44, from Denby, Derbyshire, has an audience of around 4,000 children listening to him read bedtime stories online
Mr Elliott, of Denby, Derbyshire, said he had read from around 70 children’s books, taking six to 12 minutes a story, over the past ten weeks.
The father of four described the growth of his audience as ‘a bit mad’, adding: ‘It’s been fun.’
He said: ‘I did this purely because I couldn’t see my grandchildren and they were missing that connection of Granddad reading them a story. I was too.
‘Whenever the see me they always ask for bedtime stories, so I thought the best way around the lockdown was to do it online for them.
‘But they told their friends and they told their friends and it’s gone to more than 4,000 people now, which is a bit mad.
‘They know me as granddad but in the videos I accentuate this and make sure all the characters have funny voices and expressions, and of course I wear a flat cap.
‘Some of the kids have started sending me drawings of me as Granddad and they request certain books and message me for me to say hello to them on the videos.’
Mr Elliott added: ‘I suppose I’m like the Joe Wicks of bedtime stories. I’ve sung happy birthday a few times now and said “hello” to hundreds of kids.
Unable to visit his three grandchildren, Poppy-Rose (left) , four, Skyla-Rae (right), two, and 18-month-old Oscar-James due to the lockdown, the account manager decided to post videos of himself reading bedtime stories for them online before his audience expanded
‘Some parents have even posted books through my door for me to read. Neighbours and schoolteachers have been very helpful giving me books, so far I’ve read nearly 70 and I’ve been doing it for ten weeks now.
‘They are between six and 12 minutes long to read, but if it is a bit short, I’m happy to read two.
‘I ask some of the children if their parents are key workers, and I’ve had kids of firefighters, police, nurses, nursery workers and teachers all on there. It’s been really nice.
‘Some days I am reading out 20 or 30 names of kids who wanted me to say hello. From Cornwall to London, all over the country, it’s been really fun.’
However, with many children now back at school, Mr Elliott is hanging up his flat cap and taking a short break.