The creator of cartoon handyman Bob the Builder has admitted that a newly-announced revamp of the show was a big risk. But Keith Chapman told reporter SAM RUSSELL that the remix was needed to appeal to today's 'sophisticated' pre-schoolers.
Favourite children's TV show character Bob the Builder cemented his appeal in the late 1990s.
But the can-do construction worker and his chums, including business partner Wendy and popular vehicles Scoop, Muck and Lofty, have long-since disappeared from our screens.
However, cartoon producers Hit Entertainment have placed their confidence in the 'Can We Fix It?' star, giving him a CGI makeover in a reboot which sees him move to the big city.
The new-look show, which airs on Channel 5 next month, gives Bob a new apprentice called Leo, moves him to the 'bustling metropolis' of Spring City and introduces a new voice cast including Joanne Froggatt of Downton Abbey as the voice of Wendy and Lee Ingleby of Harry Potter fame as the voice of Bob.
Bob was created by 56-year old Keith Chapman, who studied for three years at Great Yarmouth College of Art and Design and lived in Coltishall from 1975.
The college has since closed and merged with the then Norwich School of Art and Design, which has since been renamed Norwich University of the Arts (NUA), where Mr Chapman is a visiting professor.
He said he would always have a soft spot for the character that launched his cartoon career, and while he had sold the rights he had had conversations with the people behind the revamp.
'I've seen the new designs and I was invited over to Hit Entertainment a couple of months back and they took me through the first few episodes which they've made,' he explained. 'They've spent a lot of money on making these new shows.
'They've got millions of dollars riding on it and they've made it more relevant to kids of today who are used to more sophisticated shows than when Bob first came out in 1999.
'I like what they've done. Wendy looks really cool now, much more savvy.
'They've mixed it up a bit and I hope it's a huge success.
'It's more aspirational and dynamic in what he can do.
'He's building bigger things - he's not just putting up little patios and stuff, which is where he started.'
He welcomed the inclusion of an apprentice in the new show - an idea contained in the original concept but dropped - and said it could provide a good source of humour.
Mr Chapman acknowledged that making changes to a popular series could be controversial, and had experienced this himself as a viewer.
'When I saw the new-look Thunderbirds it was a bit of a shock without the puppets, but you have to move on,' he said. 'There will be some resistance to people seeing Bob like this, but it will maybe come from parents or guys in their early 20s who grew up with it.
'They will remember it and perhaps will be thinking 'oh god, what have they done to Bob', but of course the audience now - the pre-schoolers - won't remember the older Bob.
'They will be seeing it fresh so it will be interesting to see how it goes down.
'I have to applaud that moving creativity.
'It's good they feel they have the confidence in the brand, and he's so iconic and well-known.'
He added that many shows were opting for the CGI route to give characters a fresh look.
'They can do more on it than perhaps we could in the older, more gentle type style,' he said. 'Kids are more sophisticated and they see a lot of stuff - the bar has risen in quality and style.'
Since Bob the Builder, which has generated billions of pounds in revenue around the world, Mr Chapman has gone on to launch popular shows including Paw Patrol, a canine cartoon in Canada.
'I've got plenty of other things to be doing, but he obviously Bob was my first and perhaps the most special,' said Mr Chapman, who now lives in London. 'He changed my life and got me started and being able to do this full-time.'
He said he was often invited back to Norwich and had visited this summer, when he spoke to students at NUA.
'I try to give them some insight not just into the making of it, but the business side and how you make it into a brand,' he said. 'You have to think about the bigger picture and how you pay for these shows.'
Mr Chapman, whose sister lives in Aylsham, said he was working on many new concepts for the five to eight-year-old market, and also on a sitcom idea with a friend and movie ideas.
The first episode of the new series airs on Channel 5's Milkshake on September 1 at 7.20am.
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