MUMBAI: BBC's kids channel CBBC has commissioned three new shows.
Tronji is aimed at children aged six to eight years, and has been commissioned from Ragdoll, the makers of Teletubbies. It involves two worlds that co-exist - the Tronji world, and the real world, blending live action and real children with a computer-generated environment. It aims to entice its audience into the problem-solving and detecting activities of the Tronji world, encouraging them to help solve the comical dilemmas presented in each episode.
Also from Ragdoll is In The Night Garden. This is aimed at pre-school children. It features a host of silly characters living together within a happy and caring community. It is filmed in real woodland, weaving together the very latest technical innovations in live-character costume technology and computer-generated animation to create a fully immersive experience for young viewers.
Me Too!, another new series for pre-schoolers, has been commissioned from one of Scotland's newest independent production companies, Tattiemoon. This show has been produced by Brian Jamieson, who also produced Balamory. Me Too! is a drama for pre-school children set in a bustling city and revolving around the lives of ten main characters, their children, their jobs and their ambitions.
These daily stories will reveal what happens in the parallel worlds of the pre-school child at play and the grown-up at work. There are 150 x 20 episodes. CBBC's executive editor for independents Anne Gilchrist said, "These are three highly significant commissions for CBBC and I'm really pleased that we will be working with people in the independent sector who have such a high calibre of talent and creative expertise.
"Each one will be innovative, exciting and engaging for their target age groups and promises to become 'classic' children's programmes - which generations to come will enjoy and remember fondly for years."
Me Too! will air next year. Tronji and In the Night Garden will air in 2007.