I am very excited. At 4.50pm every weekday night (well, nearly) you will find me glued to the screen to watch my new gardening heroine. We shall gloss over the fact that she's on CBeebies and aimed at 4-7 year-olds.
Yes, today Dirtgirl will premier in the imaginatively titled Dirtgirlworld, a new to the UK show created in Australia featuring, yes you guessed it, a girl who loves gardening, wears gum boots, drives a tractor (of course) and grows awesome tomatoes. She also knows all the cloud names. How cool does she sound?
The programme encourages children to "get grubby" and is a "celebration of life outside". Goodness, what's not to love? And there's funky pop songs. Apparently.
We do have amazing children's programmes here but sometimes they can be a bit....earnest. I long, sometimes, for the old fashioned Postman Pat of my eldest's toddlerhood. Now we seem to think unless we keep on at children they won't learn any of the wonders of the world. How patronising. Don't get me started on the Green Balloon Club...
So I have high hopes for this new show, although am slightly perturbed by the mention of Greenthumbs - "real kids in real gardens having unreal fun". Hmmm. Still, as Dirtgirl says "it's all about balance".
