Summer’s well and truly here! And that can only mean one thing for kids: spending countless hours indoors watching quality TV. But what are the greatest kids’ TV shows ever? We put together a panel of Guardian arts writers and asked them to name the best-ever small-screen creations for children that can still be watched, from retro 1970s stop-motion delights to hilarious animated streaming shows – and much more.
For zero to five-year-olds
Andy’s Dinosaur Adventures
Tall, curly haired and boundlessly enthusiastic, Andy Day is an immovable mainstay of BBC children’s TV – with good reason. His show about constantly travelling back in time to fix the exhibits he breaks in his museum day job is suffused with playful authority and is packed with wonderful wildlife clips.
Bagpuss
Oliver Postgate’s sepia-toned 1970s masterpiece in which found oddities – fiddles, jewels, pincushions – are presented to a cloth cat, a toy woodpecker and a rag doll by their owner Emily. Overflowing with period charm, Bagpuss has a quirky grace that still enraptures children.
Ben & Holly’s Little Kingdom
It’s no surprise that Joe Brumm, creator of award-winning puppy animation Bluey, initially worked on Ben & Holly’s Little Kingdom. It’s genuinely funny. Made by the brains behind Peppa Pig, this cartoon about fairies and elves is also brilliantly quirky and inventive.
Bluey
“A cartoon about an Australian dog” might not sound like much, but Bluey succeeds because this remarkable show crams in so much humour, joy, creativity and soul-stirring moments of wonder. Your kids will laugh. You will cry.
Clangers
The fact that this deeply weird stop-motion animation from 1969 – about a planet populated by pink knitted tin-whistling mice – still airs in a key bedtime slot on CBeebies can only mean one thing: it’s an Oliver Postgate classic.
Dinosaur Train
A miracle of storytelling, songwriting and education. Buddy, a T-Rex adopted at birth by a pteranodon family, rides a time-travelling train to chat to dinos across the Mesozoic era. Its conductor (Mr Conductor) is one of the finest comic creations in children’s cartoons.
Hey Duggee
Grant Orchard’s cartoon about some pseudo cub scouts and their dog leader is like nothing else on TV. Flat and graphic in a world of ugly CGI, it’s a whirlwind of sight gags, film references and sudden bursts of mixed media.
In the Night Garden
This gently surreal, kaleidoscopically strange show is an all-conquering juggernaut. It is shown in more than 35 countries and has sold millions upon millions of books – by being both engaging and soporific enough to get kids ready for bed (ie a godsend).
Jojo & Gran Gran
It’s time for a Gran Gran plan! This charming, heartwarming story of five-year-old Jojo and her – you guessed it – gran having fun adventures together may only be three years old, but it is already firmly in the CBeebies canon.
Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood
The Fred Rogers biopic starring Tom Hanks opened eyes worldwide to the Presbyterian minister who became a beloved children’s TV host. Mr Rogers’ Neighborhood, which ran for 33 years, is unpatronising, compassionate TV that treats children with respect.
Numberblocks
The writers and voice actors behind this counting-based show about living mathematical squares somehow pack it with intriguing nuance. The songwriting also shines. Tracks like Two Times Tango will play in children’s – and adults’ – heads for an eternity.
Callout
Paddington Bear
There has been no shortage of great screen adaptations of London’s most famous bear from darkest Peru, but this 1970s stop-motion animation is the only one scripted by Michael Bond himself. It’s a wry, lo-fi delight, unfailingly soothing and smile-inducing.
Pingu
Looking like Mr Bean reincarnated as a claymation bird, this resoundingly quirky animation has captured the hearts of multiple generations. It’s a pleasingly retro slice of stop-motion fun that traverses child-pleasing toilet humour and physics-defying absurdity.
Play School
The formula of this show, which ran from 1964-88 and can be found on YouTube, is simple, wholesome and hugely influential. A theme, some songs, stories, activities and a short film – and that’s it. The presenters are as everlasting as the words to The Wheels on the Bus. Just magical.
Postman Pat
The original seasons of John Cunliffe’s show about rural delivery hiccups are far superior to the whizz-bang reboot. Pottering round Greendale with the most relaxed public-sector employee ever and his firmly unmagical cat is an absolute delight.
Sarah & Duck
No show on CBeebies feels quite as ornate as Sarah & Duck. The stories are gently whimsical, Roger Allam’s narration is warm and wry, while the music is breathtaking. It is the definitive bedtime show of a generation.
Sesame Street
This is the water that all other children’s shows swim in. Funny, intelligent and proudly inclusive, it boasts legendary characters including Big Bird and Elmo, who have acted as substitute parents for generations of kids around the world.
Something Special
This extraordinary, eye-opening series transformed how a generation interacts with neurodiverse and disabled peers. CBeebies kingpin Justin Fletcher goes on outings with a child or two, and often their carer, while teaching words in Makaton signing. It’s gentle, kind and truly innovative.
Take Hart
Forget Blue Peter. The height of ambition for every 1980s child was undoubtedly inclusion in Tony Hart’s gallery, which was the centrepoint of this superb art instruction show (available on YouTube). Not only that, it introduced claymation superstar Morph to the world.
Teletubbies
Enduring and iconic, the Teletubbies have been a TV mainstay since the 1990s. So pan-generational is their appeal that these four custard-obsessed toddler aliens have recently been revamped by Netflix in the US, with Kimmy Schmidt’s Tituss Burgess as narrator.
Wallace & Gromit shorts
For an introduction to British comedy, few shows can surpass Aardman’s paramount pairing: the optimistic cheese-loving inventor and his eye-rolling beagle. It’s 34 years since A Grand Day Out, but their adventures are as fresh and charming as ever.
Words and Pictures
This BBC show had an incredible run, launching in 1975 and lasting till 2007. Aimed at key stage 1 pupils, it reached its zenith in the 80s (you can still find it on YouTube). Fronted by Julie Andrews-ish Vicky Ireland and her flat-capped cartoon sidekick Charlie, each episode features a story, a song and a magic pencil with a glowing eraser, which slowly traced letters. Timeless excellence.
For five to eight-year-olds
Blue Peter
Still going strong after 65 years, Blue Peter is the longest-running children’s TV show ever. From the covetable Blue Peter badge to its “Here’s one I made earlier” catchphrase, the educational magazine show remains a staple of British culture.
The Box of Delights
This 1984 adaptation of the John Masefield fantasy story was (then) the BBC’s most lavish children’s production, costing £1m. Its cast is top-drawer and its experimental aesthetics genuinely unsettling. Even the opening titles are chilling.
Captain Planet
This tale of young “planeteers” using a literal ecowarrior to fight environmental disaster is one of the most prescient –and starriest – children’s shows ever. Whoopi Goldberg voices the spirit of the Earth, Meg Ryan is an evil scientist, Jeff Goldblum a villainous rat and Martin Sheen an unscrupulous waste collector.
Danger Mouse
In both its original and rebooted guises, Danger Mouse is a restless, whip-smart, irreverent scattergun of a show, mocking everything from James Bond to Marvel to children’s TV itself. Notching up impressive numbers of jokes per minute, this is self-aware perfection.
The Demon Headmaster
All kids secretly suspect that their teachers are evil. But The Demon Headmaster really went the extra mile. Sinister and often nearing full-blown horror, it’s strong stuff. There should be more shows like this.
Floor Is Lava
This series, in which contestants traverse an obstacle-laden room without touching the flaming floor, is loaded with drama and excitement. But be warned: your children will not stop jumping over the furniture after they’ve watched it.
Get Your Own Back
When it comes to pioneering children’s TV, one thing is absolutely timeless: gunge. This gameshow opportunity for kids to wreak sweet revenge on adults via lurid gloop is unfailing fun. The show (available on YouTube) owes a lot to host Dave Benson Phillips’s raucous energy.
The Loud House
This riotous cartoon comedy is based around the talents of Lincoln Loud and his 10 sisters. Luan is a comedian, Leni a fashionista, Lucy a poetic goth, etc. There’s also an impressive lack of noise made around Howard and Harold McBride, the first married gay couple in a Nickelodeon cartoon.
The Muppet Show
Smart, funny, adorable. There’s a reason so many celebrity guests appeared in this live action TV show. From Sylvester Stallone fighting a puppet lion to an eagle declaring that Elton John is an affront to popular culture, this is still surreal, brilliantly absurd TV.
My Parents Are Aliens
A series about some kids whose parents were – wait for it – extraterrestrials. Funny, yes. Silly, yes. But it is also the show that first introduced us to Jesse Armstrong, creator of Succession and current King of All Television.
Shaun the Sheep
Aardman’s Close Shave spinoff is packed with genius. The seven-minute adventures of resourceful Shaun, sheepdog Bitzer, a dopey farmer and the rest of the flock are stuffed with witty sight gags and brilliant plotting.
The eight to 12-year-olds
Batman
These days, Batman is known as a dark, ripped and brooding figure. But William Dozier’s 1960s series, starring Adam West, remains the character’s best incarnation. Comedic, kid-friendly and utterly joyful, it is still fun to watch, even decades on. Kapow!
Byker Grove
“He can’t see, man!” No children’s TV scene in the 90s was more iconic than PJ’s (Ant McPartlin) paintball tragedy. This drama about a Geordie youth club (available on YouTube) also launched numerous careers, from Mamma Mia! writer Catherine Johnson to Ant and Dec. No wonder the latter are reviving it.
Doctor Who
One of the most successful sci-fi series of all time, ever since William Hartnell first turned up as the Time Lord in 1963. Ncuti Gatwa’s forthcoming turn as the first Black doctor will only add more excitement to this thrilling series.
Dragon Ball Z
One of the myriad productions of the labyrinthine Dragon Ball anime universe in which Earth-dwelling aliens seek dragon-summoning balls to grant them various wishes. Parents won’t get it, but kids will think it’s amazing. Trust us.
Grange Hill
The classic school soap ran for 601 episodes over 30 years, which in itself is a remarkable achievement. That it created stars, reflected contemporary issues and used mature themes to gently warm children up for adult TV is nothing short of remarkable.
Gravity Falls
This deeply funny, sweet show follows Dipper and Mabel – children who are spending summer in the paranormal-incident-bedevilled town of the title. In each episode they grapple with spooky phenomena, while dealing with the usual 12-year-old troubles. Destined to be a classic.
Horrible Histories
Before they created the wonderful sitcom Ghosts, an extraordinary raft of talented writers and performers adapted Terry Deary’s popular history books – and ended up making the best sketch series since The Fast Show.
Junior Bake Off
Every bit as charming as the adult version, with the added cuteness of precocious junior culinary geniuses. Harry Hill’s tenure as presenter infuses the show with a madcap energy that makes for a perfect parent/child watch.
Newsround
Presenting the day’s news in a child-friendly, never patronising way, the bulletin show – which started as John Craven’s Newsround in 1972 – still delivers. It’s even broken stories, including the loss of the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1986.
Pokémon
This landmark anime show laid the ground for the genre’s infiltration of popular culture outside Japan. But not only are its tales of “trainers” duelling via “pocket monsters” totally iconic, there are hundreds of episodes – meaning you’ll never run out.
Rentaghost
If you were a child in the mid-1970s-to-mid-1980s, this was almost certainly your favourite show. An impossibly solid premise – a firm rents out spectres for bespoke haunting purposes – made this as funny and silly as it comes.
Round the Bend
This collaboration between the team behind the unbeatable kids cartoon Oink! and Spitting Image’s puppetmakers is darkly anarchic. It’s a spoof Saturday-morning magazine show, presented by a crocodile in a sewer. Find episodes on YouTube – they still hold up amazingly well.
Round the Twist
A surreal Australian series that mixed comedy, drama and horror. Episodes are spectacular, if odd – full of ghosts, curses and mounds of goat poo. Plus it has a truly great theme tune.
Samurai Jack
Creator Genndy Tartakovsky made his name on Dexter’s Laboratory, but this startling, dystopian animation is where we saw into his soul. Cinematic in scope and dripping with stylised artistry, this kung-fu-inspired cartoon is a masterpiece.
The Simpsons
This era-defining show has broken numerous longest-running TV records since its 1989 debut. The first 10 or 12 seasons hail from a brilliant golden age of US TV: empathetic, funny, exciting and clever all at the same time, with characters that are relatable, inspiring and hilarious.
So Awkward
CBBC’s school sitcom is a masterclass in teenage behaviour. Laugh and cringe as neurotic Lily, upbeat Jas and scientific soulmates Martha and Ollie overcome ultra-relatable trials of adolescence over six series that only get better. It even spawned a university spinoff.
SpongeBob SquarePants
Bright, fast, cute and obnoxious, SpongeBob became a phenomenon by lightly watering down the aesthetic that John Kricfalusi pioneered with Ren & Stimpy. But this is no mere copycat. At its best, SpongeBob is violently inventive comic genius.
Have we missed your favourites? Tell us more in the comments below.
Contributors: Stuart Heritage, Catherine Shoard, Tim Jonze, Kate Abbott, Alexi Duggins, Hollie Richardson, Chitra Ramaswamy, Chris Wiegand, Andrew Pulver, Phil Harrison and Oskar Martin.
