FROM giant chocolate TV stars to brilliant bears and a larger-than-life sheep – creative bods at this prop production firm are top of their game.

The impressive collection of creations come courtesy of talented staff at Plunge Productions, a Portslade-based creative production firm that supplies props to the events and entertainment industries.

Specialising in prop making and set building, Plunge Productions opened its doors to The Argus this week for an up-close-and-personal look at its dazzling creations.

They included the likes of Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch, who some admirers would admit is a tasty prospect.

A PR firm took that assessment quite literally and asked Plunge Productions to create a life-size Cumerbatch out of Belgian Chocolate for a UKTV promotion. The six-foot, 88-pound Benedict Cumberbatch doppelgänger was called Benedict Chocobatch. It took 250 hours to make.

Plunge’s Tim Simpson said: “They put him in a shopping centre and waited to see what people would do. Some people broke his fingers off and ate them, others kissed him, someone bit off his nose.

“He was returned to us once they were finished with him, but he was half-eaten.”

Another glance around the Plunge Productions studio finds two giant teddy bears, commissioned by bookmaker William Hill to encourage punters to place a bet on the gender of the Royal Baby.

The bears, which weighed about a quarter-tonne each, were placed outside Buckingham Palace. They are stuffed with “proper bear stuffing” – but aren’t as cuddly as they appear.

Tim said: “There’s also steel inside so they’re not good to cuddle. They took about three weeks to make and were placed outside Buckingham Palace and driven around London on the back of a truck, so they’ve been around a bit. It was all to encourage people to place a bet.”

If you thought that was baa-rmy, feast your eyes on the monster-sized Shaun the Sheep. The three metre-tall prop was part of the marketing campaign for the movie of the same name and starred at the premiere in London, among other places.

“Shaun the Sheep was a great job, he was made out of polystyrene, like a lot of our creations are,” said Tim.

“You get it in big blocks and you use wire cutter and brushes to create shapes. Shaun was placed in London’s South Bank and has been touring Europe, he’s been a lot of fun.”

Formed in 1997, Plunge Productions began life as a theatre production company in Birmingham and produced shows all across the UK. The business moved to London but, as Tim revealed, various directors “went off to have families” and ended up leaving the company in his safe hands.

He said: “I moved to Brighton and took it with me, and we’ve been doing well here in Brighton.

“We moved to where we are now four years ago, but I tend to run the business now and don’t spend a lot of time in the workshop, which is kind of a shame but that’s what happens. It’s better than not having any clients, so there’s a lot to be thankful for.

“It’s a creative job – so one thing I’m really proud of is the fact we are able to give these creative people paid work, because a lot of the time people have to supplement their talent with other jobs just to pay the bills. They can use our workshop to freelance, come in at weekends and so on. It’s great.”