Rank The Prank Leads Commissions for CBBC Productions

LONDON: CBBC has commissioned a host of new and returning kids’ titles from its in-house team, Rank The Prank among them.

The broadcaster has commissioned the 13×22-minute series Rank The Prank from its Salford-based in-house team CBBC Productions. On the show, two prankster kids are teamed up with a Hollywood special-effects master to perform a hidden-camera gag on the unsuspecting public. The kid who pulls off the highest ranking prank will have the chance to pull the ultimate prank on their family or friends.

Rank The Prank was developed by CBBC Productions’s in-house development team, led by Ben Armstrong, and is co-produced with Apartment 11 in Canada. Sid Cole serves as executive producer for CBBC. The show will also broadcast on BBC Canada.

CBBC Productions has also secured a commission for a brand-new TV adaptation of Jill Murphy’s The Worst Witch. The 13×30-minute show will follow Mildred Hubble’s adventures as she studies at Miss Cackle’s academy for witches. Co-produced with ZDF, Marcus Wilson serves as executive producer for the CBBC, with Lucy Martin producing and Emma Reeves on board as lead writer on the adaptation. This is CBBC Productions’s second major partnership with ZDF.

Cheryl Taylor, controller of CBBC, said: “Our viewers love the idea of sophisticated and funny pranks, so we’re really delighted to be adding Rank The Prank to our slate of quality CBBC shows. We’re equally delighted to bring the magical Worst Witch to our screens—fans of the popular books will be delighted to see Mildred’s adventures at Miss Cackle’s Academy brought to life on CBBC.”

Additionally, the mockumentary-style comedy series Class Dismissed will return for a second run, while Absolute Genius has been renewed for a ten-episode fifth season called Absolute Genius: Monster Builds. The Dumping Ground is another returning series from CBBC Productions that has been commissioned for a 24×30-minute season and a new game, with Jonathan Phillips joining as executive producer. Other titles returning for additional seasons include Hetty Feather, Big Friday Wind Up, The 4 O’Clock Club, Hacker Time and The Dengineers.

Helen Bullough, the head of CBBC Productions, commented, “I think these commissions are a wonderful testament to the specialist creative talents of the in-house teams here at CBBC—from development to production and across all of the platforms on which our curious, discerning young audience are consuming content. We’re thrilled at the prospect of telling all of these amazing stories across all of our genres over the next 12 months, from the emotional to the hard-hitting.”