History

Whacky props and hand-drawn storyboards from the iconic children’s television series Round the Twist are on display at Australia’s national museum of screen culture in Melbourne.

The ACTF invited six artists to create a new work based around their relationship with Australian kids’ TV. Here, Cat Rabbit discusses how children's television impacted her childhood and inspired her work, 'We've opened our eyes and we're flying up high'.

The ACTF invited six artists to create a new work based around their relationship with Australian kids’ TV. Here, Carla McRae discusses how children's television impacted her childhood and inspired her work, 'Snapsak the Backsak'.

The ACTF invited six artists to create a new work based around their relationship with Australian kids’ TV. Here, Tim Meakins discusses how children's television impacted his childhood and inspired his work, 'Virgil'. 

The ACTF invited six artists to create a new work based around their relationship with Australian kids’ TV. Here, Felix Colgrave discusses how children's television impacted his childhood and inspired his work, When Strange Things Happen.

The ACTF invited six artists to create a new work based around their relationship with Australian kids’ TV and the culture of their formative years. Celebrated as ‘fan art’, the artists explored their memories of ACTF stories across a broad range of mediums.

On Hannah Bradford’s first day of high school, she experiences all the usual excitement and fear associated with this transition, but her first day is especially significant: Hannah is transgender, and it’s the first time she will wear a girl’s school uniform and go by her chosen name, rather than the boy’s name she was given at birth.

A fairytale series featuring dance, drama and music, set against the spectacular backdrop of Sydney Harbour: Dance Academy was aspirational viewing at its best. What began as a casual chat between two colleagues over a drink resulted in 65 episodes across three series, a feature film and worldwide success.

The ACTF distributes children’s content all over the world and is renowned for its broad and unique catalogue of high-quality programs. But were it not for the refusal of international sales agents to take on the “rude” and “risky” Round the Twist, the ACTF’s global sales business may not exist.

“The Office, set in the playground,” is how creators described Little Lunch in the lead up to its launch. A heart-warming series that takes place during the 15-minute primary school morning tea break, Little Lunch broke new ground by using mockumentary format in Australian children’s television for the first time.

With 26 episodes spanning hundreds of years, My Place is one of the most ambitious children’s television series in Australian TV history. Based on the picture book, the TV adaptation has become a timeless classic and left an indelible footprint in educational settings.

In casting the lead role for Mortified, the ACTF auditioned hundreds of young actors across the country. They finally found their girl in Melbourne: Marny Kennedy. We sat down with Marny to find out what it was like to star in her own show at the age of 11, and how Mortified changed her life.

On the brink of adolescence, a girl’s got a lot to deal with: a changing body, a flood of hormones, and maybe even the stirrings of a first crush. In Mortified, Taylor Fry is confronted by the lot.

We’re looking back on 12 of our most iconic programs. In this article, we celebrate Mortified.  

As part of the ACTF’s 40-year anniversary celebrations, we’re looking back and shining a spotlight on 12 of our most iconic programs. In this article, we look back on The Genie from Down Under: a quintessentially Australian, one-of-a-kind comedy series.

Mark Mitchell is an Australian cultural icon and a significant figure in the 40-year history of the ACTF, having starred in Lift Off!, Round the Twist and The Genie from Down Under. We spoke to Mark about his time on these iconic shows and how he became one of Australia's best known comedic personalities.

Decades before Bluey, an ambitious cartoon series featured Australian accents and humour, with an Aboriginal character front and centre — but Li'l Elvis and the Truckstoppers almost didn't get made.

Whether or not you’re familiar with Lift Off!, there’s one face – or lack thereof – that most Australian children of the nineties will recognise. In this article, we explain the philosophy behind EC and debunk the myth that children were terrified of the gentle puppet, who was beloved by the children of Lift Off! both on and off screen. 

It’s been 30 years since Lift Off! first aired, but three decades on it remains one of Australia’s most iconic children’s programs. In this article, we look back at what made this series so successful at the time, and why it still holds a special place in the hearts and memories of those who grew up watching it.

As part of the Australian Children’s Television Foundation’s 40 year anniversary celebrations, we’re looking back and shining a spotlight on 12 of our most iconic programs. In this article, we look back at the ACTF’s first major production, Winners.

Morris Gleitzman is one of Australia’s bestselling children’s authors. But before he was a novelist, Morris was a screenwriter who created one of the telemovies which was part of the ACTF's first major project, the anthology series, Winners.

As we celebrate the 40^th anniversary of the Australian Children’s Television Foundation (ACTF), we’re sharing our history. In this article, we go all the way back to the very beginning: how and why did the ACTF come about?

The Australian Children’s Television Foundation is celebrating an exciting milestone, with the organisation turning 40.