Hundreds of Cbeebies Bedtime Stories will soon be added to BBC iPlayer, and details of what’s happening are here.
The art of telling a story has been utilised for the television screen ever since the medium began. Jackanory is probably the best example, whether it was the much missed Bernard Cribbins spinning a yarn (which he later did to equally wonderful effect in Old Jack’s Boat – incidentally, the Russell T Davies penned episode The Christmas Quest is a magnificent piece of television) or the great Rik Mayall reading Road Dahl’s George’s Marvellous Medicine with a feverish fervour, it is perhaps the most primal form of drama there is, and is integral to children’s development.
Bedtime Stories is a kind of modern take on Jackanory for pre-schoolers, often managing to tempt huge stars of stage, screen, music and everything inbetween to Cbeebies to read a story. The BBC is making hundreds of episodes from the past available on iPlayer too.
Some of the readers you will be able to watch include (deep breath):
Harry Styles, Reese Witherspoon, Tom Hardy, Sir Elton John, Chris Hemsworth, Dolly Parton, David Schwimmer, heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, Jason Momoa, Spice Girls Mel C and Geri Halliwell-Horner, Gregory Porter, ABBA legend Bjorn Ulvaeus, Ed Sheeran, Ryan Reynolds, Kate Winslet, Steve Carell, Eddie Redmayne, Chris Evans, Michael Palin, England football captains Harry Kane and Leah Williamson, Dave Grohl and Tom Hiddleston.
The news comes as CBeebies’ Bedtime Stories has launched a new partnership with BookTrust to deliver unique reading corners in libraries across the UK including Leeds, Hartlepool, Sandwell, Leicester, Brent and Somerset.
Diana Gerald, CEO of BookTrust, said that “we’re thrilled to team up with CBeebies to explore new ways to engage families with the free reading support on offer at their local library. This is a key pillar of our charity’s work to help more children get the wide-ranging benefits that come from a love of reading.”
The digital library of archived episodes will be available on BBC iPlayer from World Book Day, Thursday 7th March.
