The BBC has announced an array of new multi-platform commissions developed by BBC Children’s In-House Productions, introducing a strong line-up of children’s drama for CBBC and BBC iPlayer.
Blue Peter will mark its 60th anniversary with Blue Peter’s Big Birthday. The celebrations started last October with a Strictly Come Dancing Special for Children in Need, a Royal visit and the introduction of guest editors to the show.
"Slime is officially dead,” declares Emma Scott, CEO of Beano Studios. As the custodian of one of Britain’s most beloved brands, she is responsible for bringing the Beano brand into the 21st century.
The Beano comic is still profitable, she points out, although the 35,000 copies it sells each week are a far cry from the 2 million copies it sold during its heyday in the 1950s.
CBBC’s Horrible Histories was the subject of RTS London’s latest production focus in early November – with a team of creatives from producers Lion Television explaining how they put together the award-winning show.
Veteran diversity campaigner Baroness Benjamin shows that campaigning and creativity go hand-in-hand
The original show ran for eight years, finishing in 2010.
Aisha Toussaint (River City) has been cast as Raven, taking over from the original Raven James Mackenzie, who will make an appearance during a quest to find an Ultimate Warrior.
The new series expands and develops the format of the original to make it appeal to a whole new audience, with action-filled challenges and interesting stories.
An RTS North West event at the Lowry Theatre, Salford at the end of October – “Children’s drama: from concept to screen” – looked at how the best shows are put together.
On the panel assembled for the event were the executive producer of The Worst Witch, Marcus Wilson; senior drama producer, CBBC Independents, Amy Buscombe; Lime Pictures drama chief Rebecca Hodgson; and Hank Zipzer producer Jim Poyser. The panel was chaired by head of CBBC production Helen Bullough.
The brothers, Paul and Barry, were interviewed on stage at Holy Trinity Church in Leeds by the author and light entertainment aficionado Louis Barfe.
The brothers’ father, Gene Patton, was a well-known Gang Show performer who had worked with a teenage Peter Sellers. Indeed, the brothers think that some of the characters later performed by the chameleon-like Sellers bore a striking resemblance to their father.
The November London Centre event – “It started with a book” – examined how books are adapted for the telly, drawing lessons from three very different projects.
The Hank Zipzer books for children – written by Henry Winkler, who played the Fonz in vintage US sitcom Happy Days – have been turned into a returning CBBC series.
Walker Productions Managing Director Helen McAleer, who had seen Winkler play Captain Hook in pantomime, was determined to make a version with the actor.
