Hit Kid's TV Show for NI

The Stage reports that Belfast production company, SixteenSouth, won the contract to create a Northern Irish version of the classic children's television show, Sesame Street.

Along with familiar Sesame Street characters such as Elmo and Cookie Monster, new characters will be created for a Northern Irish audience.

Sesame Workshop president Gary E Knell applauded SixteenSouth's "exciting original concept" and said he hoped it would result in "a unique show that will be relevant, humorous, engaging and reflective of a brighter future for the children of Northern Ireland".

Colin Williams, managing director of SixteenSouth's parent company The Inferno Group, welcomed the announcement as "a truly amazing opportunity, a real privilege to create a programme our children will grow up with and, 30 years from now, remember the songs, the loveable characters, the stories and, most importantly, the life lessons".

The first series, which will comprise of twenty fifteen-minute episodes, will be broadcast by BBC NI from February 2008.