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CBeebies is urging children to get off the sofa and get active this summer with two new series which encourage youngsters to get out, get moving and enjoy the great outdoors.

Mighty-Mites (Wish Films, 25x14') is a high-energy new series, presented by Sarah-Jane Honeywell, which inspires children to get up and have a go at a range of exciting activities – from circus skills to indoor skiing.

Big City Park (26x15'), meanwhile, is a new puppet and live-action series set in a beautiful city park in Northern Ireland, which urges children to get out and about and explore what the great outdoors has to offer.

"The weather forecasters are already predicting a scorching summer but we want to encourage our viewers to get out and about whatever the weather," says CBeebies' new Controller Kay Benbow.

"These inspiring new series are all about enthusing children to discover the joy of the outdoors or the excitement of learning a new activity, whatever their tastes, ability or budgets".

From go-karting to kite-flying and pond-dipping to pottery-painting, energetic new series Mighty-Mites inspires children to get up and try out different sports and activities.

In each episode, bubbly presenter Sarah-Jane (Tikkabilla, Higgledy House) and excitable and inquisitive puppet "Go-Joe" take two children on a journey to try an activity for the very first time.

Sarah-Jane and Go-Joe share the activity alongside their friends to help empower and encourage them in the new experience – but it's not just the presenters doing the hard work.

The series also encourages children watching at home to get involved in the rich range of activities by learning the actions and taking part in interactive quizzes.

Set in a beautiful and bustling Belfast Park, Big City Park is about the adventure of finding nature's hidden treasures.

A celebration of the outdoors, the series captures the park through the changing seasons, be it rain, hail, sleet or shine – proving that there is "no bad weather, simply inappropriate clothing".

Each episode, May the friendly park-keeper, Ruairi the mischievous caretaker, Dara the streetwise city fox and Billy the excitable badger welcome a group of enthusiastic, welly-clad explorers to the park for a day of treasure-hunting, game-playing and story-telling.

Together, they let their imaginations run wild as they explore their surroundings, gathering the park's natural bounty for Ruairi's special treasure chest.

Mighty-Mites is a Wish Films production for CBeebies. The producer is Beverley Josling and the executive producers are Sarah Colclough, for CBeebies, and Helen Cadwallader and Will Benton for Wish Films.

A co-production between CBeebies Scotland and Northern Ireland's Sixteen South Television, Big City Park is directed by Richard Bradley, produced by Dougie Napier and executive produced by Sara Harkins for CBeebies Scotland and Colin Williams for Sixteen South Television.

The two series will transmit this summer on CBeebies (dates tbc).

Notes to Editors

CBeebies is dedicated to delighting and surprising its young audience and it remains the UK's most watched and loved channel for the under-sixes, with almost half of the target audience tuning in each week (parents and carers with children aged 0-3 and four- to six-year-olds in digital homes).

The CBeebies website attracts more than 800,000 unique users a week, peaking at over one million unique users in February last year, and last May saw the launch of the specially designed, child-friendly CBeebies iPlayer.

FW