Twirlywoos

Educational and creative. The message is simple and engaging for younger children.

My 2 year old just laughs and laughs when she watches this and she watches it so intently. It's a nice break from listening to nursery rhymes all day and it's actually entertaining.

I like the bit where they knock on the door and they all fall over

My daughter loves this show. Her favourite character is Peekaboo, the little sea creature that squirts ink from its backside to create a screen. Not only that, but she has learned so much about the world from watching this. It is clearly aimed at very young children and speaks to them simply and clearly. Linda Bassett is the perfect narrator. Toddlers learn through repetition and this show teaches them in that style. To anyone unsure about this show I would tell them to try and watch it through a child's eyes. The joy it brings my daughter tells me it is an excellent programme with lots to teach her.

Anne Wood, the brain behind Tellytubbies and In The Night Garden, uses her tried and tested formula to create Twirlywoos.

It's so obviously an Anne Wood creation. The similarities are so obvious they shouldn't need stating, but here they are:

• cute, colourful characters that are clearly related to each other in an unspecified way; - aside from the narrator, language has been reduced to squeaky noises and funny sounds; - fabulously detailed set; - no real storyline, just a routine through which the characters get a chance to see into the human world; - use of space/stops to give children opportunities to respond/interpret.

The problem with Twirlywoos isn't that it's bad - it's that it seems to be little more than a repackaging of Wood's previous creations. Instead of Tinky-Winky, Dispy, Laa-Laa and Po (or Upsy-Daisy, Iggle-Piggle, Makka Pakka and the Tombliboos) we have Great Big Hoo, Toodle-oo, Chickadee, Chick and Peekaboo. It's good to look at, but for all the talk it's hardly original.