CBBC launches factual strand, Just William remake

British children’s broadcaster CBBC is to launch a raft of new series including a remake of classic schoolboy tale Just William and a number of documentaries for a new factual strand.

The British public broadcaster’s digital channel will produce Just William in association with BBC One. The series, which is based on Richmal Crompton’s 1920s novels, will be produced by Men Behaving Badly creator Simon Nye and will be set in 1952.

The network, which is primarily aimed at kids between six and twelve, has also announced 6x28mins documentaries for a new factual strand following the success of its homelessness doc series Sofa Surfers.

Indus Films, which produced Amazon with Bruce Parry, will produce two features including one about a boys school in Coventry and one about travellers in Essex. RDF-owned The Foundation will produce a doc about young mayors, while Welsh indie Boomerang will make a film about three children whose parents are in prison.

Separately the channel will launch Inside Life, a 10x30mins factual series that will go behind the scenes of the BBC Natural History Unit’s new wildlife series Life. It will be executive produced by Wendy Drake.