CBeebies to air “Sleepy Time Stories” in four African languages this Heritage Month

To celebrate Heritage Month this year, BBC Studios will be translating seven Sleepy Time Stories on CBeebies into an African language, from isiZulu, Sesotho, Tsonga to Afrikaans. The dubbed episodes will air on CBeebies, DStv channel 306, between 2 and 29 September every day from 19h00.

CBeebies is BBC Studios’ dedicated preschool channel on DStv, providing children aged 6 years and under a range of programming designed to encourage learning through play. Sleepy Time Stories will help little ones wind down after a day of excitement and get ready for bedtime.

Pierre Cloete, commercial director at BBC Studios in Africa, says: “To mark Heritage Month and celebrate the diversity of our nation, we wanted to shine a spotlight on some of our African languages with the help of our preschool channel, CBeebies. As CBeebies is for little learners, translating a selection of the Sleepy Time Stories into four languages will allow our little viewers and parents to learn or develop their language skills while enjoying the shows throughout September.”

The translated shows will be:

  • Goldilocks and the Three Bears (isiZulu, Sesotho, Tsonga, Afrikaans)
  • The Elves and the Shoemaker (isiZulu, Sesotho, Tsonga, Afrikaans)
  • The Enormous Radish (isiZulu, Sesotho, Tsonga, Afrikaans)
  • The Fox and the Hen (isiZulu, Sesotho, Tsonga, Afrikaans)
  • The Magic Porridge Pot (isiZulu, Sesotho, Tsonga, Afrikaans)
  • The Ugly Duckling (isiZulu, Sesotho, Tsonga, Afrikaans)
  • Three Little Pigs (isiZulu, Sesotho, Tsonga, Afrikaans)
  • Bluey S2 Set 1 Episode 26: Sleepy Time (only to be translated into isiZulu)

The episodes will also be available to stream on BBC Studios Africa YouTube.

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