"What's the story in Balamory?" Julie Wilson Nimmo, better known as Miss Hoolie, asks. "People have been saying that to me for 20-odd years, practically every day." For millions, that familiar catchphrase instantly transports them back to Balamory, the beloved children's TV show in which residents solved everyday problems through friendship and fun in a brightly coloured fictional island community. More than 20 years since it ended on CBeebies, the programme returns with a new series this month - and some of its original stars are back in their iconic roles.
It seems the magic of Balamory never really left them. Wilson Nimmo is especially excited that "there are new stories in Balamory". Fellow cast member Andrew Agnew, best known as the well-meaning PC Plum, says "it's such an honour to be back doing something that we love so much".
Wilson Nimmo and Agnew are hoping the familiarity and warmth of the early 2000s hit will resonate with a new generation of viewers. "It's come at the perfect time," Wilson Nimmo says. "Children are exposed to so much animation now, which is fantastic.
But for children to turn the television on... for kids to sit and watch kids on the telly, not a lot of shows do that any more." The revival of Balamory comes a month after a BBC report warned of a decline in UK-made children's content, with the sector under pressure and facing major challenges - including less investment by both public and commercial broadcasters. At its peak, the show attracted two million viewers a week in the UK and was watched by millions more around the world. Wilson Nimmo and Agnew are hoping some of those viewers will now watch the revival with their children.
"Hopefully they will want to put the kids in front of something that they loved so much," says Agnew. Wilson Nimmo chimes in that the revival is like a "love letter to the original". The pair tell me the international success of the show - which was broadcast in Europe, Australia, Hong Kong, Canada and South Africa - led to them being recognised all over the world.
Wilson Nimmo recalls becoming pals with children's music group The Wiggles while visiting Australia. Agnew says his most memorable experience of being recognised came when he was "in my trunks in a swimming pool in Turkey and kids came up and said, 'You're PC Plum'." The cast's reunion at the initial script read-through was an emotional moment. "I was pretty emotional because we were seeing the scripts for the first time," says Wilson Nimmo.
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