14 December 2023 , 13:08
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This year's festive editions of CBeebies' Bedtime Stories promise to be the most emotional in history after the BBC revealed they would feature members of the Armed Forces who can't be at home with their families this Christmas.
On December 23 the show will feature those serving in the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force - as well as veterans - reading stories to youngsters from their bases around the world. From locations including Bahrain, Cyprus and the HMS Prince of Wales aircraft-carrier, they will tell the story of The Invisible String, written by Patrice Karst and illustrated by Joanne Lew Vriethoff.
The synopsis of the story describes a mother, who tells her two children that they're all connected by an invisible string in a tale acknowledged by parents, educators, therapists, and social workers as "the perfect tool for coping with all kinds of separation anxiety, loss, and grief."
Serving Armed Forces members will read the emotional story of The Invisible String on December 23 (BBC)Sergeant Shannon Bennett, A mother of a three-year-old daughter, will be reading from her Nato base in Estonia. "Christmas can be a bittersweet affair for UK armed forces personnel, as many of us spend the festive period deployed thousands of miles away from our loved ones," she explained. "On Christmas Day this year, there will be almost 7,000 sailors, soldiers and aviators who will miss the chance of Christmas dinner with family, or a cosy reading session with their children, because they are stationed abroad, anywhere from the Falkland Islands to the Indo-Pacific."
She continued: "That’s why this special CBeebies Bedtime Stories episode will resonate so deeply with people who are serving – because, while they are upholding peace and security around the world, they are still missing the simplicity of tucking their children into bed."
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The programme's Christmas Eve special will see CBeebies presenter and Mr Tumble star Justin Fletcher appear as Father Christmas as he reads the classic tale, The Night Before Christmas, by Clement Clarke Moore. On Christmas Day itself, meanwhile, the 53-year old will team up with Dodge the Dog to read to patients at the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital.
Justn will tell the story of The Hospital Dog, by Gruffalo writer Julia Donaldson and illustrator Sara Ogilvie, which follows a Dalmatian called Dot who visits children in hospital. Fletcher will end the show by declaring "A very special Christmas wish to those who can’t be at home this Christmas: this wish is for you."
Ruth Sheard-Pearson, at Manchester Hospital School, added: "Our children absolutely loved their special storytime session. Being in hospital means they miss out on a lot of things other children take for granted, especially at this time of year, so it was wonderful to see the looks on their faces as they listened wide-eyed to every single word of the story."
CBeebies' Bedtime Stories airs daily at 6.50pm on CBeebies and BBC iPlayer.