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Beloved children’s show Balamory is returning to the BBC after a decade or two off the screen – and here’s the story.

What’s the story in Balamory, wouldn’t you like to know?.

So goes the opening line to one of the catchiest children’s television theme tunes of the early 2000s: Balamory.

The show originally ran from 2002 to 2005. Created by former Playschool presenter Brian Jameson, Balamory followed the inhabitants of the titular fictional Scottish village, led by Julie Wilson Nimmo as nursery teacher Miss Hoolie . Nimmo and her husband, Still Game co-creator Greg Hemphill, recently revisited the Balamory filming location as part of their documentary Jules and Greg’s Wild Swim, which is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

Miles Jupp also got his break in the show playing zany inventor Archie, he went on to forge a successful career as a stand up comic.

The BBC...

Iconic children's programme Play School celebrates its 50th anniversary today (April 21).

The show launched on April 21, 1964 and is noted for being the first programme to air on BBC Two.

Play School ran for 24 years until 1988 and was fronted by presenters including Brian Cant, Carol Chell, Johnny Ball, Derek Griffiths and Floella Benjamin.

The programme celebrated landmarks such as becoming the first children's programme broadcast in colour on BBC Two in 1968, and became the first children's show in the UK to feature a black host when Paul Danquah joined the team in 1965.

To mark half a century since the show's launch, Play School will be part of a special exhibition commemorating Children's BBC called 'Here's One We Made Earlier', which is due to open in July at The Lowry in Manchester.

The Children's Media Foundation are also supporting a special reunion of people who worked on the show.

Former head of...