The BBC is looking for a production company to create and produce an animated preschool series based on one of its biggest franchises: Doctor Who. 

The Beeb has released its 13-page Invitation to Pitch, which outlines what it’s looking for in this project to expand the 60-year-old brand. 

The public broadcaster will select one production company to create the new series. Co-productions are not eligible, but parts of production can be sub-contracted out. 

The requirements note that CBeebies is aiming to commission one 52 x 11-minute series, with a production plan to have 26 episodes ready for broadcast in 2027/2028 and the rest in 2028/2029. To meet that timeline, pre-production would likely need to start in January 2026. 

The series will air on the CBeebies channel and BBC iPlayer, and BBC Studios Distribution will sell the new show.

The deadline for initial submissions is July 10, 2025 through BBC’s online submissions portal. The plan is to select which studio will produce the project on November 25. 

While Doctor Who occasionally tackles some dark themes in episodes, it’s generally a family-friendly series. It ran for a staggering 25 seasons from 1963 to 1989 before re-launching successfully in 2005. The conceit of the original series is that an alien called the Doctor travels through time and space, usually with a human companion, helping people and solving problems along the way. The popular show now totals 41 seasons. Disney+ has been streaming some of the series since 2023, and the franchise has built a broad consumer products program. 

A five-person team—including Kate Morton, senior head of children’s commission and acquisitions for ages zero to six—will evaluate the pitches for the preschool take on this premise. 

The pubcaster is looking for studios that have produced and delivered animated series of scale (a minimum of 12 hours for a TV broadcaster or SVOD) in the last five years. 

Obviously, the BBC expects this take on the franchise to be appropriate for a CBeebies audience. And the pubcaster also has some very specific elements of the brand that it wants to see retained in the new series, including the main character’s intelligence. 

The Doctor in this new preschool series should also travel through time saving individuals and planets, be an alien with two hearts, avoid physical combat, and use intelligence, humor and diplomacy to solve problems. Plus, the Doctor’s time-traveling machine TARDIS and sonic screwdriver gadget should also appear.  

“We are looking for creative and talented producers who are passionate about Doctor Who and can re-envision the character and world for a younger audience,” according to the pitch invitation. “The stories should be simple, adventurous and energetic, with empowering messages woven seamlessly into the plot. Moral lessons and educational themes could also be introduced, but never to the detriment of fun, action and age-appropriate humour.” 

Image courtesy of BBC.