CBBC to adapt Enid Blyton 'Malory Towers' set in all-girls boarding school

CBBC have announced plans to make a new TV show based on Enid Blyton’s Malory Towers book series.

The 13-part drama will be set in an all-girls boarding school in the 1940s, and follow the adventures of 12-year-old Darrell Rivers as she leaves home for the first time to attend the school.

Despite keeping the period setting of the original books - from the creator of Noddy and The Famous Five - CBBC intends to make the stories relatable for children growing up in 2019 by including storylines on FOMO (fear of missing out), bullying, crushes, peer pressure, and self-doubt.

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The series will also honour the nostalgia of the original stories, featuring lacrosse, midnight feasts and pranks.

Casting for the show - which is to be set in Cornwall - is yet to be announced.

Cheryl Taylor, Head of Content for BBC Children’s, said: “Malory Towers remains hugely popular with fans of all ages and we’re delighted to welcome mischievous Darrell Rivers and her pals to CBBC.”

Enid Blyton, who died in 1968, rose to fame in the 1930s and is famous for her canon of children’s adventure stories. But her books have received a critical backlash in the past few decades, with them being branded as simplistic, predictable, sexist and even racist.