What's the Story in Balamory Now? Producing Preschool Children's Drama at BBC Scotland in the Twenty-First Century

Abstract

This essay uses the children's programme Balamory as a specific example of preschool drama production within the BBC's nations and regions structure. It considers the criteria and context of the show's success as a PSB text, arguing that, by capitalising on its unique BBC Scotland origination and production context, the programme was able to represent aspects of the national that offered distinct appeal to the network audience. It discusses reasons why this success is unlikely to be replicated in the contemporary preschool television production and broadcasting ecology.