BBC Children’s has announced a raft of new titles coming to CBeebies and CBBC.
The roster of new commissions is full of home-grown talent and includes a host of animated favourites like Hey Duggee, the multi award-winning hit animation from Studio AKA and BBC Studios Kids & Family, back for series 5, and the totally new Hey Duggee’s Squirrel Club. The spin-off brings all the beloved characters from the original hit series to screen in a brand-new format where viewers at home are invited to be a part of the Squirrel Club.
Pre-schoolers will also get to meet Mojo Swoptops, a little truck that can swap her top produced by Blue Zoo and Tararaboom. A vehicle with a difference using her ‘cardrobe’ of swoptops, Mojo finds creative solutions to the problems facing her local community, the town of Swopsea.
CBeebies audiences will also be able to discover brand-new animated adventures like Rafi the Wishing Wizard and her apparently ordinary family who are actually an extraordinary household of modern-day wizards, produced by BBC Studios Kids & Family Productions.
For older children, original dramas include series two of A Kind of Spark, produced by 9 Story Media Group, that blazed a trail with its representation of neurodiversity across both cast and crew, and recognised this week by its nomination at the RTS North West awards.
In addition, there is the much-anticipated return of the iconic Odd Squad, a co-production between Sinking Ship Entertainment and BBC Studios Kids & Family Productions, now filmed in Manchester. The new series, Odd Squad UK, features a brand-new world of oddness and group of agents with a predominantly British cast filmed exclusively in the UK.
Children and parents alike will enjoy the reimaging of the much-loved children’s books The Famous Five in three feature-length episodes. The first, directed by Tim Kirby will be aired in during the festive period bringing families together to watch the classic stories retold for a new generation. The series follows five daring young explorers as they encounter treacherous, action-packed adventures and is produced by Moonage Pictures andbyNWR Originals, and in co-production with ZDF in Germany.
Animation fans won’t miss out as BBC Ignite is also set to return with a second round of funding opportunities for the UK animation industry bringing fresh, bold and innovative ideas to life for audiences across CBBC.
Patricia Hidalgo, director of children and education said: “The BBC is one of the biggest investors of quality children’s programming across all genres. From more Numberblocks, a Hey Duggee spin-off to a new series of A Kind of Spark, our latest commissions demonstrate our commitment to providing home-grown, relevant programming to the millions of children across the UK we entertain and educate every day.”
