Introducing three bright new stars to CBeebies

Apple Tree House follows Mali (Aamir Tai), an ordinary boy who has just moved on to an extraordinary inner-city estate, where he meets his new friends Sam (Miranda Sarfo Peprah) and Bella (Summer Jenkins).

The friends go on adventures within the Apple Tree House estate, solving daily problems and overcoming childhood dilemmas - all within the safety net of their loving families and the inspirational urban community that surrounds them.

The young actors - aged between 7 and 9 years old - were found after the production team went into local schools, community groups and used social media to find the right children for the roles. Both Aamir and Miranda were new to acting and all three secured the roles after the team saw nearly 1,500 children during the audition process.

As well as the three main children the audience will be introduced to a wealth of characters, including Mali’s grandma Zainab (Shaheen Khan) and Sam’s father Kobi (William Vanderpuye, one of the key vocal talents behind the Rastamouse series).

Speaking about playing Mali, Aamir says: “I hadn’t done any acting before but I really enjoyed playing Mali and making new friends. I especially liked the adventures with Grandma Zainab as it reminded me of my own grandma at home, who can’t wait to see me on TV!”

Apple Tree House is created by William Vanderpuye, Maria Timotheou and Akindele Akinsiku and is inspired by reflections on their own childhoods. The series has been developed for television by award-winning Rastamouse producers Eugenio Perez and Gregory Boardman.

Apple Tree House is due to premiere on CBeebies next month.

HH/JC4