Noddy revamped for 21st century

Much loved: Noddy with his friend, Mr Plod the policeman

Enduring children's favourite Noddy is to make a £10m TV comeback in a brand-new series.

In contrast to the familiar puppet-based animated programmes made in the 1960s and 1970s, the new series of 100 episodes will feature hi-tech computer graphics.

The 21st century version of the mischievous rosy-cheeked character, created by children's author Enid Blyton in 1949, may appear on British TV screens as early as June next year.

Called Make Way for Noddy, the new series is designed to be more accessible globally and will be offered to broadcasters around the world for dubbing into local languages.

Spin-offs

The latest shows come after Noddy in Toyland, which was a huge hit on the American television network PBS in 1998, and is still being shown on the BBC.

Paul Sabella of Canadian company SD Entertainment, which is making the new programmes, spoke of giving Noddy a makeover.

Noddy: The boy with the bell on his hat gets a new lease of life

"We will try to preserve the integrity of the character, that is our number one priority, but also bring him to life like never before," he said.

Nick James, managing director of Chorion Intellectual Properties, which has commissioned the new production explained Noddy's enduring appeal.

"The reason he is such a popular character is that children think they are Noddy. They go through the adventures and learn with Noddy," he said.

Global relevance

Blyton, who died in 1968, was the 20th century's most successful children's writer, selling more than 400 million books, half of those Noddy titles.

"Certain elements of that don't fit in with these times - she wrote about the children of Britain," James said.

"But we now have a worldwide phenomenon. We have to make it relevant to children everywhere."

So the new programmes will be brought bang up to date with a multicultural cast but no Golliwogs - the black-skinned, criminal inhabitants of Golly Town who were given their marching orders after complaints of racism.

They will include a character of Hispanic appearance, garage mechanic Mr Sparks, and a black character, Dinah Doll, described as a "black, assertive, ethnic minority female", who was first introduced for a 1992 BBC animated version.

Chorion snapped up the Noddy brand in 1996 for £13m, and are intent on recouping their investment with book, toy and internet spin-offs.

"We want to create an asset that we can reuse for all sorts of different things," James said.