Pre-school animation show nets worldwide distribution deal

An Irish children's animation series has won a worldwide distribution deal before it is due to released on RTÉ.

Nelly and Nora has been snapped up by BBC’s CBeebies channel and by the largest broadcaster in Germany ZDF, along with other international media.

The series has been produced by Geronimo Productions, the company behind Punkie, the story about a girl with Down Syndrome, and Planet Cosmo, a series on the planets.

It features Ardal O'Hanlon as the voice of the father of Nelly and Nora. The sisters are played by Clodagh Kane and Aoibhinn McAuley.

BBC (CBeebies) secured the UK rights and will show the series starting in May. It makes its debut on RTÉjr next month.

BBCWorldwide has also obtained the rights for international distribution and its global CBeebies channels.

Series creator Gerard O'Rourke said interest in Nelly and Nora amounted to a "perfect storm" with a world-class distributor and a publisher on board. Walker Books will produce a series of books around the series.

Mr O'Rourke said he was inspired by rainy holidays in Wexford as a child to create the series.

Lifelong memories

The series, aimed for preschoolers, follows the stories of two young sisters who spend their holidays and weekends with their parents at the family’s mobile home in a camping park by the sea.

Nestled between a sheltered beach and a farm, the girls love the freedom of the camping park where they spend most of their time outdoors having exciting adventures and making lifelong memories.

The weather plays a major part in the girls’ daily fun – windy days can be chaotic, rainy days make raindrop music, while sunny days can be just too hot.

RTÉ young people’s executive producer Pauline MacNamara described Nelly and Nora as a “truly beautiful and charming series that just sings on screen”.

Head of CBeebies acquisitions Alison Stewart said they were looking forward to introducing a young audience to Nelly and Nora.

“They will love getting to know these two lively girls. Whatever the weather, Nelly and Nora have fun and adventures outdoors – and we’re sure that CBeebies viewers will find two new friends in this charming series.”