Five lines up Impossible's MechaNick

The UK's fifth terrestrial is lining up a slate of new kids shows for October, including a cgi series co-written by Brian Cant (Play Away) and Five's controller of kids Nick Wilson, with Hugh Laurie narrating.

MechaNick (40×7') will launch into the 09.00 weekday slot in Five's Milkshake kids block on Monday October 27. Produced by Carlton-owned Impossible Television, the cgi series (pictured) follows the adventures of Nick and his canine sidekick Spanner as they fix all the cars in Tooley Town.

Laurie is narrating the toon, written by Cant, Wilson and Cherry Britton. Aimed at kids aged 2-5, the show will feature stories, songs and music. Like Bob the Builder, MechaNick will have his own catchphrase: 'where there's a wheel there's a way'.

Launching on the same day is a couple of other new weekday titles for Milkshake: The Softies and Franny's Feet. The Softies (40×5') follows a bunch of creatures from the bottom of the garden, and is produced by puppet-maker Hands Up and CTVC-owned Hillside Studios.

Wrapped yesterday, the shows stars three puppets: Cosy, Cuddle and Comfy, who all live in a fuzzy felt garden. No humans appear in the show, produced by puppet veteran Leslie Pitt.

Franny's Feet, meanwhile, has been acquired from Canada's Decode Entertainment. The toon tells the story of a five-year-old girl who goes on magical adventures each time she tries on a new pair of shoes.

Three other new weekend titles are making their Milkshake debut on Sunday October 5. These include Maurice 2274, a live-action drama from Two Hats Film & TV in which an 11-year-old boy travels through time to see events from history.

Also launching that Sunday is Stepping Up, indie Sixth Sense Productions' follow-up to Five's fly-on-the-wall doc, School. The new ten-part series follows a bunch of year seven kids at Chesterton Community College in Cambridgeshire.

As previously reported here, Southern Star Entertainment's new drama Snobs (26×30') also launches on the same day. It also debuts in Australia on Nine Network this autumn.

Other new shows for Milkshake this autumn are Two Hats TV's Dusty & Smudge, brought forward to September 22; Nelvana's Rolie Polie Olie (10×30'); Kerrupt Animation's Sailor Sid; and the Disney/Shadow Projects series The Book of Pooh (26×20').