Noddy keeps his English voice

Noddy: Keeps his English voice for his return to Britain

Children's favourite Noddy is keeping his English accent - after worries that he was going to return to British TV with a North American accent.

The boy with a bell on his hat is back on the BBC in the spring with a series put together for Canadian viewers in which the characters spoke with a transatlantic twang.

But Noddy, Big Ears, Mr Plod and Tessie Bear will have their original voices back when Noddy in Toyland is aired, the BBC has decided.

The shows were originally made in the UK, but became part of longer programmes with a different format when they were sold to Canada. The 40 editions of 10-minute shows became half-an-hour programmes with a 'wrap-around' set in a toy shop.

The animated Noddy sections were dubbed with Canadian voices to make them more appealing for North American children - but the BBC has decided to change the voices back for the British screening.

'Children will know his voice'

A BBC spokesman said: "Children will have seen him and know him already with his English accent so we have decided to stick with that."

However, the 'wrap-around' sections are unchanged, and new Canadian characters including Rusty The Tin Clown, Sherman The Tank Turtle and Johnny Crawfish will not be dubbed.

The shows have been a massive hit in Canada and are also shown on 200 local stations across the US.

This years is set to be a big one for Noddy - the BBC and the Enid Blyton Company, which owns the rights to the character, want to make him a global success to mark his 50th birthday.