The Fimbles: Teletubbies II?

Will the Fimbles, BBC TV's latest children's characters, give the corporation the pre-school hit it needs? Meg Carter reports

Six feet tall, pastel-striped and resembling a cross between a Clanger and a Moomin, Fimbo, Florrie and Baby Pom are more than just new recruits to BBC television's children's line-up. Like the Teletubbies and Tweenies, this trio – the Fimbles – represent a major strategic investment to bolster pre-school programming across BBC 1 and the digital pre-school channel CBeebies. As with the Teletubbies and Tweenies, hopes are that the Fimbles will be a successful franchise.

The Fimbles inhabit the magical Fimble Valley. The show's theme – and characters' preoccupation – is discovery. In the 130 half-hour programmes in the first series, they find something, interact with it, tell a story, sing and encourage children to use their imagination and learn. They speak English, but their language range echoes that of their audience – children aged from two to four.

The series, which starts next month, marks the culmination of an open-tendering process launched last autumn by BBC TV's children's head, Nigel Pickard, to find a pre-school hit like Teletubbies and Tweenies. Seventy-five producers chanced their hand.

Five years ago, pre-school was seen by many as a homogeneous audience rather than a set of different groups with unique interests. Teletubbies changed that. It was created for a specific age group – under-threes. And it was a commercial success: the 365 shows and associated merchandise earned more than £120m internationally for the BBC's commercial arm, BBC Worldwide. Then came Tweenies, also created for a specific demographic – three to fives – and a successful "property" in its own right.

The effect has been a mushrooming of interest. As well as BBC 1 and CBeebies, GMTV and now Channel 5 have a pre-school strand. Nickelodeon launched Nick Jr and Disney Playhouse Disney. Producers' appetites have been whetted by the returns enjoyed by Ragdoll, the originator of Teletubbies, and Tell Tale, creator of Tweenies – both retained a share of the rights.

Fimbles is just one of many forthcoming pre-school programmes, such as Flip Flops, for BBC TV; Booh Bah, a commission by GMTV from Ragdoll; and an as-yet-unnamed live-action format from Tell Tale. The Teletubbies will return in Teletubbies Everywhere, and a 52-part Tweenies series on safety launches soon.

Not everyone welcomes the explosion of interest in pre-school programming or the high profile of the international revenue that a format can earn. Ragdoll's founder, Anne Wood, laments the fixation with copying Teletubbies. "The contribution TV can make to little kids is often overlooked – there are lots of samey programmes," she says.

"We were lucky to keep some rights to Teletubbies. But the money has gone into research, as broadcasters often aren't willing to finance the development of ideas. There's a tendency to think about the money to be made from a property rather than the money needed to make it a success. Little children are very creative. You want to put that in the programme, not ask, 'How can I stretch this idea and create merchandise capable of earning millions?'"

Storytelling and problem-solving are key to Fimbles, says Lucinda Whiteley, a former Channel 4 executive, who developed the series with Mike Watts, a former Walt Disney TV vice-president, through their production company, Novel Entertainment. "It's narrative-led, with a clear storyline and other stories woven in," she says. "It's about making connections, and how the characters interact."

Yet, in a world where international co-finance, overseas sales and other rights exploitation are contributors to programme budgets, the potential to win international audiences and generate revenue through off-air spin-offs is never far away. Besides, off-air activities also drive TV audiences by boosting the profile of a show and, ultimately, it's ratings that count.

For Fimbles – a high-cost, high-concept, studio-based show – BBC Worldwide has covered some production costs. But Pickard insists commercial opportunities are not his concern. "It was of strategic importance to CBeebies to have a third landmark show to drive ratings – something different," he insists. "It's about what's going to work best for the audience, not what we can make the most money out of."

That said, Fisher-Price acquired merchandising rights early on, and Fimbles toys, books, videos, interactive TV and online games will soon be available. In the autumn, Fimbles will be launched internationally at the Mipcom TV market in Cannes. Successful pre-school TV isn't just about programmes now, Pickard admits: "It's become a game of three-dimensional chess."