STRETHAM author Jean Adamson is to have her much-loved characters Topsy and Tim appear as TV characters for the first time.

The new show, based on the original books, will appear on pre-school children’s channel CBeebies and will be the channel’s first live action drama.

Each episode will follow the five-year-old twins as they experience life, from moving house to washing the car and their first day at school.

The programmes will go out for the first time in 2014.

Mrs Adamson, 84, and her husband Gareth created the characters in 1959 and, since then, has sold more than 21 million copies of the books, of which there are 130 titles.

Mrs Adamson told the BBC: “I am delighted at the wonderful new opportunities that are opening up for my little characters, Topsy and Tim.

“They will be stepping out of their books and on to television and I can’t wait to see how Darrall Macqueen plans to present them.”

“We have been searching for our first-ever live action drama for CBeebies for some time and we are delighted to bring the wonderful stories of Topsy and Tim to a brand new audience,” CBeebies controller Kay Benbow added.