‘Clever, relevant, vital’
Brickwall & BBC for BBC
BBC Bitesize’s Solve the Story blends the suspense of a mystery story with the hands-on challenge of an interactive learning tool, which asks its audience of children aged 14 and under not just to watch a story but step inside it and solve problems rooted in the school curriculum. Viewers are asked to decode a secret message using literacy skills or using logic to pick a suspect out of a lineup – and the action only moves forward if they’ve solved the problem.
Judges described the strand as “clever, relevant, vital” and “intriguing”, with one summing it up as “an original and entertaining way to engage with the subject matter”.
With a budget of just £6,000 an episode, the show sets out to match the production values of premium children’s drama. It has also built a commitment to real-world representation into the stories, with a cast and plots that reflect the diversity of the UK, ensuring that children from all walks of life can see themselves as the hero.
The digital-only commission has successfully reached young people who have begun turning to YouTube for their education content, and has been a key part of the shifting purpose of BBC Bitesize, as it moves from being revision site to a destination for cutting-edge, original content that could not be produced elsewhere.
Shortlisted
Bluey Tunes
BBC Studios Digital Brands & A+C Studios for Bluey YouTube
Bluey Tunes builds on the success of the beloved Australian cartoon series, reimagining tracks from four licensed albums as stop-motion animated films featuring the familiar Bluey characters.
The result, our judges said, was “totally lovely” and “inventive”, with “sweet characters and witty dialogue”, and provoked “all the feels”.
“Absolutely loved this for the digital space,” one judge said. “Thoroughly enjoyable, sweet and an original take on animation style while retaining Bluey’s heart and warmth.”
Horrible Science
Lion Television for BBC
This show was “a brilliant reinvention of Horrible Histories” according to our judges. It took the acclaimed children’s historical sketch show and reinvented it for altogether more tricky topics such as gravity, magnetism and the solar system. Judges described the show as “inventive, funny and educational”, with “great use of animation and good songs”, adding that it looked much more expensive than its £220,000 an episode budget.
l Spy, You Spy
Tiny House Productions & Nest Productions for CBeebies & BBC iPlayer
This show takes the popular childhood game and turns it into an entertaining and educational package which aims to be a truly interactive experience which young viewers can play along with, and makes “effective use of tiny budget”, our judges noted. Another praised the casting of children with disabilities.
Spy Kids Investigates: World. War. Me
Fresh Start Media for Sky News
The 2025 Children’s Peace Prize Winner, 16-year-old refugee Bana Alabed fronts this programme explaining what life is like for the more than 450 million children around the world affected by armed conflict. She hears from children affected by ongoing wars in Gaza, Ukraine and Sudan, and judges praised her as “a totally credible beacon of resilience and purpose”, heading up “a great piece of work”.
The Dumping Ground
BBC Studios Kids & Family for BBC
Now in its 14th series, this drama aims to showcase engaging, characterful and heartfelt stories, in a way that our judges described as “entertaining, engaging and heartfelt” and it a way that makes it clear how much “it loves its audience”. The show for seven to 10-year-olds has thought hard about reaching new audiences through digital add-ons such as a preview episode designed especially for iPlayer.
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