Five is looking to beef up its children's strand Milkshake! with the launch of further spin-off series, and has also unveiled plans to commission a Tracey Beaker-style drama series aimed at four to seven year-olds.

Milkshake! is produced in-house by Five's children's production arm Milkshake! Productions and the broadcaster is keen to make the brand stand out in its own right alongside the shows it commissions and acquires for the strand.

This autumn, Five will follow spin-off programme The Milkshake! Show with the 20 x 7-minute Milkshake! Music Box. Each episode will repeat a single rhyme, first straight to camera with different musical arrangements, and then accompanied by a nursery class and animation, made by Impossible TV.

The show will be fronted by Jen Pringle and Derek Moran, who also present the established Milkshake! magazine show.

It was commissioned by Five director of children's programmes Nick Wilson and will be produced and directed by Louise Beresford.

Wilson said: “The bulk of our schedule will continue to come from indies, but one of the challenges we face is to grow the Milkshake! brand as opposed to the brands within it, such as Fifi and the Flowertots.”

Five plans to make a third Milkshake! spin-off, shot on location, next year.

Meanwhile, Wilson has challenged indies to come up with drama ideas for children aged four to seven and claimed that despite this being an obvious gap in the market, very few companies come forward with ideas.

“People tell us consistently that there's a huge crisis in children's TV, but for drama for four to seven year-olds, we can't get people through the door,” he said.

“We're looking for something that is less Fifi and the Flowertots and more Tracy Beaker. There's nothing filling that hole at the moment. The nearest we've got is Lazy Town - but we're looking for something that is less moralising and more storytelling.”