First children's TV series from Random House

Channel 5 has commissioned the first children's TV series from Random House Children's Screen Entertainment (RHCSE), the UK production house created by Random House Children's Publishing and Komixx Entertainment.

"Wanda and the Alien" is based on the series of books by writer and illustrator Sue Hendra in which a little girl rabbit befriends an alien. It is set to air in 2014 as a series of 52 10-minute programmes using flash animation. The series is already in pre-production at Mackinnon & Saunders digital studios in Manchester.

RCHSE has appointed kids' content distributor CAKE to handle global distribution of the series.

Andrew Cole-Bulgin, partner and head of film and TV at RHCSE said: "'Wanda and the Alien' is a beautiful property, with a real sense of magic and wonder at the world. We wanted to do justice to Sue Hendra's original books so we've invested in the UK's best writing and animation talent to create a series that will delight audiences worldwide."

He added: "Channel 5 have already shown they are willing to give real support to British children's animation and we're delighted to be working with them."

Jessica Symons, head of children's at Channel 5, said: "'Wanda and the Alien' is absolutely delightful and is sure to capture the imagination of our young audience."