Archie joins friends Hilda & Potto in Sesame Tree 

A bright-eyed and bushy-tailed Muppet will be moving to Sesame Tree, Northern Ireland’s very own version of Sesame Street, when the second series debuts later this year.

Archie, a three and a half year old squirrel with a love of learning, will join friends Hilda and Potto on their adventures as they encourage children to explore the world around them, promoting respect and understanding through educational messages.  The trio will answer questions on many topics posed by children and introduce local mini documentaries that showcase the diversity of life in Northern Ireland. Archie is played by local puppeteer, Mike Smith.

Currently being filmed in Northern Ireland, the new Sesame Tree TV series will be accompanied by educational outreach materials and a website – bbc.co.uk/sesametree which is produced by BBC NI Learning.

The new character has been developed by the local Sesame Tree production company Sixteen South Television, and Sesame Workshop, the not-for-profit organisation behind Sesame Street. The series is due to air across the UK on CBeebies later this year.

Archie (short for Archimedes) is a squirrel with a big bushy tail, bright eyes and cool glasses.  With a signature phrase of “Sweetily deet!”, he loves to learn new things, especially when it comes to counting and measuring. He is truly delighted to be friends with Potto and Hilda and loves the fact that every day in the Sesame Tree is filled with laughter, singing, learning and lots of silliness.  Archie is like an adorable much loved little brother to Potto and Hilda. They encourage him to find ways to be less afraid if he’s frightened of something – or help him to prepare for a new challenge. The three friends are always looking out for each other.

Colin Williams, Executive Producer for Sesame Tree comments, “It’s great to be back filming Sesame Tree for its second series, even more so as we have our new character, Archie, to introduce to the sights and sounds of everyday life in Northern Ireland.  Sesame Tree has been developed to support the new NI curriculum so Archie and his friends have an important role to play in educating young children.  He is a very welcome addition to the Tree. It is really exciting to see Archie and Hilda out and about on location as part of the documentary filming with local children and families for our new series.”

The Sesame Tree project is funded by the International Fund for Ireland, which promotes integration and reconciliation throughout Northern Ireland and the southern border counties, and also by Northern Ireland Screen.  The second series of Sesame Tree will be broadcast on CBeebies in late 2010.