News in Time and Space - The Clangers to return

Tuesday, 15 October 2013 - Reported by Chuck Foster

The BBC have announced that the classic children's series The Clangers is to be revived for a new generation of viewers. The series is to make by its original producers, Smallfilms, with original producer Peter Firmin actively involved as executive producer and designer alongside the late Oliver Postgate's son Daniel, who is writing storylines and scripts.

Firmin said:

We hope to engage and entertain children of all ages and their families, just as Oliver and I did all those years ago. The new series will include great story telling with lots of heart. It will also be technically improved. When you watch the original Clangers you have to make allowances for the limitations of the animation techniques when it was made. It was magical for its time, but this is a new Clangers for a new age!

Postgate added:

I’ve always loved Clangers. It is my favourite Smallfilms show. In fact, it is my favourite children’s show of all time. I was about five years old when it was made – just the right age. The new Clangers is not something we’ve rushed into. It has been carefully considered. For me, this is a labour of love. We are very fortunate to get the very best people collectively to work on it, and we are all very enthusiastic!

The series is a co-production between Smallfilms, the BBC's pre-school channel CBeebies, intellectual property holders Coolabi and US 24-hour pre-school network, Sprout, with BBC Worldwide acting as international distributor.

Kay Benbow, Controller of CBeebies, said:

Nostalgia is a funny thing, and we always think very carefully about remakes or re-imaginings of classic children’s programmes. The Clangers is a programme that has an enduring magic. The new proposition has been built firmly upon the joyful foundations of the original, and will be produced by a team of exceptional talent which includes the extraordinary Peter Firmin. We are terrifically excited to bring this out-of-this-world series to our CBeebies audience.

Jeremy Banks, CEO, Coolabi, said:

Clangers is a highly respected and much-loved brand that remains close to the hearts of the British public. It was watched by millions of children and their families in the early days of colour television and is remembered with affection by many. Our aim is to pay tribute to the classic series whilst appealing to a new generation of pre-school fans and families.

Andrew Beecham, SVP of Programming at Sprout, said:

Sprout is passionate about bringing the finest children’s programmes to our audience and Clangers aligns with this vision. Clangers has a remarkable animation heritage, which had a big impact on my childhood in the UK, so I look forward to its reinvention for a brand new audience on Sprout in the US.

Production has begun on the series, which is expected to be broadcast in 2015.

The Clangers to return

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