A BBC Actor Reveals How To Succeed in Kids TV

CBeebies is the BBC’s flagship national channel for young children. Andy Day, one of the channel’s most recognisable faces, tells us: “Working in kids TV is a joy. The audience are very honest and, generally, the people you work with are a joy too.” While kids TV shows may not always have the multi-million-pound funding of some of the big adult dramas, Day sees this as an opportunity for ingenuity: “It’s a nice challenge to create content with a usually limited budget in comparison to most entertainment programmes or content for grownups.” To many in the business, the creative fulfilment and sheer delight they find in the work is the reason they continue to make it.

Scottish actor James Mackenzie rose to prominence in the iconic game show Raven, and he also stars in CBeebies’ Molly and Mack. “It’s the best job in the world,” he tells us. “You get to earn your living having fun and making memories and special moments for little ones and young people. That’s very humbling.”

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As joyful as a career in kids TV can be, don’t be fooled into thinking it’s easy. Long days with early mornings are the norm, and with tight budgets and strict shooting schedules, dropping the ball is not an option – especially if you’re actually working with children, who have very specific and firm contractual and safeguarding guidelines.

Entering into this career is a commitment, and like any craft, it takes time, passion, and effort to perfect. It’s also very competitive, with thousands of excited actors and presenters vying for a limited number of jobs.

Katrina Bryan, who shot to kids TV fame in 2007 as the titular character in science-based show Nina and The Neurons, has this advice for people wanting to break into the industry: “Be a fan of kids TV and watch lots of it. Watch the presenters and see what you like about their style, and why. Tape yourself, watch it back, and critique your performance. Write to producers of shows and channels you like, introduce yourself – maybe with a YouTube link of you presenting and showcasing any skills you have. And of course, good old fashioned perseverance!”

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Presenting
Many stars begin as presenters, learning to think on their feet in a live televised setting. This is a high-pressure situation – not only do you only have just one chance to get it right, but working for a younger audience also adds an extra layer of responsibility to keep things positive, engaging – and clean.

Acting
Then there’s acting. Some presenters also act in their own stand-alone shows, or play roles in scripted dramas. If working with scripts and character is more your thing, this is probably the best route for you.

It’s important to pick your age-range. That doesn’t mean your work can’t grow or change, but children develop so much in such a short time that knowing your target audience is vital.

Young children (2–5)
The BBC’s CBeebies is probably the most famous channel for television’s youngest audiences, boasting a brilliant line-up of content from live presenting in a studio, animated shows, dual-audience pre-records (like The Baby Club, which is aimed at both adults and babies), and scripted dramas. Its target audience is preschool, with an average viewer age of 2–5.

Children this young have famously short attention spans, so keeping them engaged is all about clarity and energy. Watching CBeebies, you’ll notice bright colours, happy faces, and clear, simple scripting. Actors and presenters need to capture the wonder of storytelling in its purest form, and delight in the worlds they inhabit. That doesn’t mean it’s OK to speak down to your audience – kids can be tremendously perceptive, so striking a balance between fun, clarity, and respect is super-important.

Pre-teen (6–12)
As kids grow, they transition to a slightly more “grown-up” style of TV. The BBC’s CBBC has a target age range of 6–12, which is a time of huge change, especially as this covers the period when most children transition from primary to secondary schools. ITV’s CITV has a slightly younger target age of 4–9 but still encompasses many years of social development.

Andy Day may be a CBeebies veteran, but his latest series Andy and the Band is a step into the world of CBBC. One contrast he identifies is the freedom to push everything a little further. He tells us: “The main thing is the difference in what you are allowed to do. If it’s aged up then the content can be aged up. Andy and the Band was geared towards the audiences who were transitioning between CBeebies and CBBC, which I think – or at least hope – we achieved.” Andy and the Band is also interesting as the whole series was released in one go on iPlayer, in the manner of services like Netflix or Amazon Prime – an example of traditional broadcast producers searching for new ways of releasing content to keep up with current consumer habits.

Content for this age range includes Ben 10 or Mr Bean the Animated Series on CITV, and The Next Step, The Worst Witch, and factual programmes like Newsround and Blue Peter for CBBC, which start to introduce audiences to more of what’s going on in the world. Interestingly, when you go on the CBBC webpage, shows like BBC Sport, Strictly Come Dancing, and even His Dark Materials are included too.

Shows for older audiences start to include greater exploration of more complex topics, as well as heavier conflict and issues-based dramas. Content can be more tongue-in-cheek (an example being Hacker T. Dog), and starts to lean towards more adult styles.

Teen and young adult
Pushing further forward is the young adult/teen audience. Natalia Hinds recently co-starred in BBC2’s The Amelia Gething Complex. She describes working on the show as one of the happiest jobs she’s done, and working for an older age group “gave us leeway to ad lib and play around a bit more.” She tells us they were “constantly laughing on set,” adding: “My whole team was literally like a family, and the three other actors I work with are now my besties.”

Whichever target audience you find yourself wanting to work for, the important thing is to tailor your energy and style to them. Don’t try and be everything to everyone, or you’ll end up being underwhelming to all.

It isn’t a guarantee, but when you’re working on a show for kids, the chances are at some point you’ll be working with them, too. This may include child actors, interviewees, or even children taking part in games or tasks. The old trope says you should never work with children or animals, but while most performers will have at least one story about that nightmare child, working with kids can be a joy.

James Mackenzie works with child actors in Molly and Mac, and with young contestants in Raven. He advises: “Treat them as an equal and never patronise kids. Nine times out of 10, they’re more professional than most professionals!” Mackenzie adds: “They pick stuff up so quickly and they don’t over-think things, so more often than not, you get an honest performance first take.”

Katrina Bryan echoes this sentiment: “Don’t make the common mistake of sounding patronising by doing ‘kids TV-voice.’ Aim to come across like the children’s pal – their equal.”

There are obviously safeguarding issues with children, so it’s important to make sure you’re professional, but being chatty and approachable always helps to maintain a good energy and keep any nerves they might have at bay. Minors will always have a chaperone (sometimes a parent or family member, but often also a professional), so you shouldn’t ever need to be alone with them. While this is vital for the protection of the child, it also frees you up so you can continue to do your job without extra pressure or stress.

It should go without saying, but this also means you have to watch your language, both swear-words and adult topics in general. This self-censoring can feel like a chore, but it simply has to be done. If you’re finding it hard to adjust to being around kids off-camera as well as on-camera, just remember the memories you’re helping to make for them.

An extra-special part of these jobs is that the kids working on them are also often the target audience for the production. Imagine how you’d have felt working on your favourite show when you were a child? They’re living that dream right now!

Even the most precocious children will look up to you, so see this as a chance to show them your best self, and stick in their mind as a true inspiration.

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As mentioned above, budgets for kids shows are often not as big as their adult counterparts. There are many reasons for this, including advertising revenue (children don’t buy their toys, parents do) and the unfair perception of kids TV being somehow less important. There’s also the reality of the constant need to innovate for new audiences, and keeping up with a rapidly-evolving youth, so children’s channels have to create a lot of new content all of the time. One of the most exciting things about the BBC is that they aren’t profit-led, which means they invest heavily in the children’s sector because it’s important, not just because it’s financially viable.

Time is money, so you’ll often find shows fit a lot of filming into not a lot of time. Don’t expect to get the same amount of pre-production as the latest Hollywood film because turnaround is fast and you have to be on the ball. When asked what she wished she’d know before filming, Hinds says: “I wish I’d known there won’t always be a big rehearsal time. You’ll get to do a scene once – twice if you’re super-lucky – before it’s recorded.” The reality is you’re going to be working on a lot of scenes – and often, multiple episodes – per day, so there isn’t enough time to stress over the tiny details.

The best thing you can do is come to set well-rested (insofar as that’s possible on a tight filming schedule), well-prepared and ready to be in the moment. Your face may end up on screen, but you’re part of a huge contingent of workers, all with their own specialities and all working towards the same goal. Yes, you’re an important part of that, and you may be lucky enough to be the one who gets their coffee made for them, but you’re not the star – the show is.

You’ll also learn to not be too precious about your takes. The likelihood that your best acting moment will also be the best shot, have the best sound, and be the one where you perfectly hit your mark without any hair on your face or the prop you were holding being in the wrong hand is pretty low. Trust your director and get over it. The edit will do what it does!

When asked about the most gruelling aspect of the show, Hinds responds quickly and emphatically. “Early mornings! We were on location for a lot of the six weeks filming The Amelia Gething Complex, so early starts were a must – even though the team were there way earlier than us.”

So, get used to early mornings. You might think the first shot of the day is early, but first you have to get into hair and makeup, put on your costume, and if you’re working on location that day, there’ll also be travel time. Have a good breakfast and make that morning coffee strong – set yourself up for the day!

Finally, never underestimate the power of mood. While a tense environment can cause stress and is counterproductive to creation, an atmosphere of fun and excitement can make a series fly. The perfect balance of frivolity and focus is where the magic lies.

Hind certainly felt this during her time on set: “We packed in a lot of episodes in a short amount of time but honestly, it never felt pressured. The atmosphere on set was seriously fun, efficient, and I feel lucky to have experienced such a warm, light-hearted and hilarious atmosphere from cast and crew.”

Clearly, fun is an important ingredient. If you’re having fun, your audience will have fun – and kids can tell when it’s fake. Put the self-conscious side of yourself to the side and dive right into the wackiness of one of the most fun jobs out there – a job that can also find you touring festivals, theatres, and venues all over the world.

There’s also nothing to stop you balancing this work with other more adult-centric jobs. Bryan may be known for Nina and the Neurons and Molly and Mack, but she also appears on Emmerdale, while presenter Ryan Russell joined Coronation Street in 2019 as part of the soap’s first black family.

While Bryan admits “pigeonholing can definitely happen,” she adds: “In many ways it can happen in any TV acting job. As soon as you’re recognisable from something, be it kid’s TV or a soap for example, people can often only want to see you in that role.” With that in mind she advises actors who “also want to work in grown-up telly, [to] talk to your agent and make a goal to keep your CV as varied as possible.”

Bryan also makes the point that “casting directors these days are more open-minded than maybe they used to be – they realise that most performers have versatility and they see beyond the stereotype. To be honest, if a director is the kind of person that is snooty about kids TV and doesn’t appreciate the skill and hard work required then I wouldn’t want to work with them anyway!”

You get to become a role model, perhaps more than other actors, and most parents and kids are tremendously gracious and thankful for your work. Being a young kid’s hero can force you to be more careful about what you put out into the world, but when you see the look on the face of a youngster who just won the title of “ultimate warrior”, a boy you inspired to read, or a little girl who plays the drums because of you, it all feels totally worthwhile.

Working in kids TV can be gruelling, and the responsibilities that come with it can feel scary, but it’s a highly rewarding career path that simultaneously feels like joining an exciting adventure and a tight knit family.

If you’re ready to work hard and laugh a lot, then go for it – and change some children’s lives in the process.