The Fletchers are at it again!
We swear, the Fletcher clan can’t be human. It’s just not possible. The amount they’re able to fit into a week – let alone a day! – is mind-boggling. They have to be robots, or maybe they managed to get their hands on Hermione’s Time-Turner from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Carrie, Tom and Gi, tell us your secret to being so productive!
Each year, this trio of hardworking Fletchers treats us to a whole host of goodies, from books and music, to live shows and podcasts. 2018 was no different. This year saw them taking on project after project, blowing us away with their work ethic and creativity. In fact, we’re so impressed we decided we simply had to dedicate an article to all they’ve achieved. Warning: It’s kind of a long list.
That’s music to our ears!
It’s no secret the Fletchers are a musical bunch – heck, if we’re being honest, McFly was the first band we ever properly fangirled over – so it’s no surprise Tom and Carrie treated our ears to some soulfully good tracks this year.
Who else is still obsessed with the solo album Carrie released at the beginning of this year? Featuring a slew of tracks we haven’t stopped listening to, it was something we feel was a long time coming. How she hadn’t released an album before 2018 is beyond us! We mean, have you heard her cover of Journey to the Past? We had to re-watch Anastasia after listening to it!
When the Curtain Falls was followed later this year by the announcement that she and the cast of Heathers were in the midst of recording an album of the musical’s songs! You can bet we’re itching to hear this album in all its glory.
As for Tom, he announced the upcoming release of the musical version of his novel, The Creakers! While it isn’t set to come out until March 2019, we couldn’t omit it from this list, especially after hearing the sneak peek of Don’t Turn Out The Light. If it’s any indication, we know we’re absolutely going to fall in love with the full soundtrack!
Books galore
We here at TenEighty HQ like to think we’re pretty talented when it comes to writing, but the Fletchers simply blow our abilities out of the water with their own projects. We’re probably going to run out of breath listing all they’ve done over the past year, but we’ll give it a go.
Tom was on a roll when it came to authoring books, so much so we’re surprised he found the time to do much else! In May, he released two books, the absolutely adorable There’s A Dragon In Your Book and Eve Of Man, the latter of which he co-authored with wife, Gi! But that’s not all. In February, he released the children’s book Brain Feeze in celebration of World Book Day, and later he and bandmate Dougie Poynter released a new Dinosaur That Pooped book, with more on the way. Finally, this month he announced the upcoming sequel to The Christmasaurus, which we’re super excited to read! Did you see the announcement video? AMAZING!
…Speaking of The Christmasaurus, we might have received a hint from Tom that it might be made into a movie. There’s no confirmation as of yet, but we’re already prepping ourselves for what could potentially be our new favourite Christmas movie!
Let’s not forget Carrie. In July, she published her novel, When The Curtain Falls, via Little Brown and embarked on an accompanying book tour in support! As well, she announced she’ll be releasing her FIFTH book, In The Time We Lost, in October 2019 – why does the wait have to be so long?! – and she made an appearance on Louise Pentland‘s book tour, which we’re super sad to have missed out on.
Anyone fancy going to a show?
If you’re like the many of adoring Fletcher fans out there, odds are you either attended one of the multiple live shows the clan put on or felt some major FOMO about not being able to. (We fall into the middle, having seen some great performances, while missing some we desperately wanted to attend.)
Carrie is a common face on the West End stage nowadays, having previously appeared in Les Misérables and The Addams Family: The Musical Comedy. This year, she starred in the hugely popular Heathers: The Musical as the iconic Veronica. She also returned to The War of the Worlds for the show’s anniversary tour, reprising her role as Beth.
When not showing off her acting chops, Carrie was also putting on some dazzling concert performances. This past May, she performed alongside Rob Houchen, Celinde Shoenmaker and Eva Noblezada for the Magic of Animation concert, and early in the year she put on a host of concerts in promotion of her aforementioned solo album! Both times we were blown away by her killer vocals.
Carrie and Tom also performed some festive Christmas hits for BBC Radio 2 as part of the station’s Christmas at Ally Pally concert, alongside a whole host of other performers. The station’s website called the night a “Festive Feast” and that it was!
Let’s not forget about Gi! For those unaware, she’s the host of the popular Happy Mum, Happy Baby podcast, and this year she brought the show to the stage by doing a live taping!
A bit of charity goes a long way
When they’re not busy starring in musicals and writing books, the Fletchers spend their time supporting a host of charitable causes. They have big hearts and go out of their way to help and support those in need.
In January, Carrie did a monthly vlog series called VEDIJ, where she raised money for the World Wildlife Fund, Coppafeel and Girlguiding. Her initial goal was to raise £15,000, but she and her viewers blew that total out of the water, raising a whopping £22,573.50. That money went a long way and we’re sure it helped a lot of people!
The charitableness continued, with Tom embarking on a trek across Transylvania in support of Coppafeel. He, along with a group of 40 to 60 volunteers, traversed the country and raised a total of £10,380.60! Tom’s trek followed the one Gi did in 2017, where she travelled Oman and raised over £18,000.
But wait, there’s more…
Carrie attended Summer in the City for the first time in three years and she made sure to make the most out of the experience! Not only did she hold a meet and greet, she sat on the Music Panel, won the award for Book of the Year and put on a musical performance for the ages!
Carrie also received some pretty big honours, winning Best Actress at the WhatsOnStage Awards and being named as a Sharpe Academy patron. The latter resulted in the Carrie Hope Fletcher Scholarship, which awards one student aged 16 to 25 with free tuition for a three-year diploma in professional music. An honour, indeed!
Earlier in the year, Tom visited Rwanda with Save the Children to show viewers how the charity works to help those in the country. In a video discussing the trip, Tom also announced he’d be partnering with Save the Children and WHSmith to help raise money for the charity.
And the cutest (and sweetest) news of all? Tom and Gi welcomed their third baby boy, Max, into the world. He’s seriously the cutest little baby we’ve ever seen, and watching their charming family grow over the years has melted our hearts time and time again.
We’re feeling overwhelmed just writing this!
We have no idea how Carrie, Tom and Gi managed to fit all this in, given their already busy schedules. They must never sleep, or there’s some sort of magic at play. However they’re managing, we want to thank them for sharing their talents and creativity with the world!
Can’t get enough of the Fletchers? Neither can we:
- Carrie Hope Fletcher Announced for first UK StageCon
- Video Spotlight: “Punish Yourself Buff”
- Our Eight Favourite Carrie Hope Fletcher Moments
- Tom Fletcher Announces Book Club
- Carrie Hope Fletcher Wins 2016 BroadwayWorld Award
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