Without doubt, the fact that Cerrie Burnell  – who has a deformed arm and is missing a hand – has prompted complaints to be made to the BBC claiming that she’s “frightening” children is SO ridiculous, it’s hard to find sufficient adjectives; ludicrous, ridiculous, preposterous, absurd… I could go on ad infinitum; the whole thing is truly pathetic but perhaps the most fitting might be ‘outrageous’.

Cerrie, who co-presents Cbeebies ‘Do And Discover’ with Alex Winters, has been accused of causing young children “sleep problems” – one assumes in the form of nightmares – and apparently, parents find it unpalatable to have to discuss disability with their children “before they are ready to hear it” according to the BBC news website.

Well boohoo and tough t*t! Guess what? Not everyone’s born ‘perfect’. Does it make them lesser people? No. Does the fact that some people feel the need to negatively comment on it make them lesser people? Hell yes… Read more & comment »

Upsy Daisy as she appears on TV

The BBC have been forced issue a darker skinned Upsy Daisy doll after they received numerous complaints about the light skinned doll.

A BBC Worldwide spokesman has reported that the channel received numerous complaints that the doll, from the hit CBeebies show ‘In The Night Garden’, did not properly represent her character.

The spokesman added that while the doll will not be taken off the shelves “because most people are happy with it”, a new model with “a darker skin tone” will be on sale from Easter.

Upsy Daisy Plush Doll

A statement from Ragdoll Productions, the company behind the show, said: “The characters are toys, not representations of people. The culture they collectively embody is unique to the garden setting in which they live.”

Pictures of both the character and the doll are included above and as you can see there is a significant difference between the two’s colouring. I have no idea why the BBC would make a move like this, but any suggestions will be gratefully received.

A year-long green initiative called EcoBeebies will launch on the CBeebies channel on 13 June 2008. EcoBeebies will introduce 3-6 year olds and their families to a range of environmental, conservation and wildlife related issues, with contributions from familiar faces including Springwatch presenter and conservationist Bill Oddie.

The launch day will be marked with a one-off special show called Easy Peasy EcoBeebies, followed a week later by a weekly nature programme called The Green Balloon Club, which will be broadcast every Friday afternoon for a year. In addition, children can access EcoBeebies via an initiative called the Green Stars Club on the CBeebies website, enabling children to learn more about conservation and their environment with parents and carers online.

Michael Carrington, Controller, CBeebies said, Read more & comment »

Michael Carrington, Controller, CBeebies, has unveiled the latest innovation from the UK’s favourite pre-school channel CBeebies. Kerwhizz is a new breakthrough multi-platform entertainment format aimed at 4 to 6 year olds.

Michael Carrington says: “Children love quizzes but there hasn’t ever been a television quiz for viewers of this age.

“Kerwhizz is tremendous fun, looks absolutely amazing and children and their grow-ups will be able to enjoy the game and the podcasts any time they like.”

In Kerwhizz three teams of CGI characters compete to answer questions that will give them add-ons or “pod-mods” for their high-tech racing machines which can help them to win a race against their opponents.

Visually stunning and packed with gags, Kerwhizz has been designed with the assistance of teachers, and a specialist adviser, to test the teams and the viewer.

The children watching are drawn into the action at every step of the game, answering questions, making predictions about the race and advising contestants when to use their “pod mods”. Read more & comment »

The BBC children’s team is celebrating success today after winning ten awards at the British Academy Children’s Awards, which took place in London last night (Sunday 25 November).

CBeebies, headed by Creative Director Michael Carrington, won the Channel of the Year Award, which recognises innovation, commissioning, creative scheduling, impact on viewers and ratings success. CBeebies also enjoyed further success with the enormously popular and groundbreaking In The Night Garden, which won the Pre-school Live Action Award.

CBBC, under the guidance of Creative Director Anne Gilchrist, won eight awards including:

* Best Drama – That Summer Day
The programme told the story of the July 7 bomb attacks in London from the point of view of children who had experienced them.

* Best Factual – Newsround’s The Wrong Trainers
The show turned real life children’s stories about child poverty into short animated films. Read more & comment »