CBeebies has commissioned UK prodco Darrall Macqueen to produce its first live action pre-school drama, Topsy and Tim, with co-production partner Penguin. The 60 x 11-minute series is based on the best-selling books, (shown right) by UK authors Jean and Gareth Adamson, which became popular in the 1960s and are still published today by Ladybird, an imprint of Penguin Children’s.

Each episode explores the fun of family life from the perspective of five-year-old twins, from washing the car with Dad to finding a lost rabbit. Moving house and getting ready to start school bring change and new challenges for Topsy and Tim and the series aims to encourage children’s personal, social and emotional development as they identify with the twins’ experiences. The Darrall Macqueen production is produced by Fiona Robinson. Executive Producers are Maddy Darrall and Billy Macqueen for Darrall Macqueen, and Michael Towner for CBeebies.