Dani's Castle

Dani's Castle is a British children's sitcom aired on the CBBC Channel. Dani inherits a castle in Northern Ireland from her deceased Aunt and gets more than she bargains for. She meets two residents, an unknown cousin and two people that have died 250 years ago. It is the spin-off series to Dani's House. Series 1 began airing on 17 January 2013 on the CBBC Channel, and 1 April 2013 on ABC3. On Friday 3rd January 2014, Series 2 of Dani's Castle ended.

Plot

Series 1

Picking up from where Dani's House ended, Dani's Castle sees Dani reassessing her life following the cancellation of fictional soap opera McHurtie's Hospital. But her life is soon turned upside down when her mysterious Great Aunt Marjorie dies and bequeaths Dani her very own castle.

With dreams of becoming the lady of the manor, Dani arrives at her new home full of ideas and optimism. But she's soon brought up short when she reaches Bogmoor Castle to find it's been voted the "No.1 Worst Tourist Attraction" in the country for 10 years running. With crumbling towers, howling corridors and an overgrown jungle for a garden, Bogmoor Castle even has a resident pair of young 250 year old ghosts – Gabriel and Esmeralda. And what's more, Dani isn't the only heir. She soon encounters a troublesome cousin she didn't even know she had, and even worse - her Great Aunt Marjorie has left her a large stack of debts and unpaid bills.

Series 2

The new series picks up from Series 1 and Dani has moved on. She's a Hollywood star now, but Bogmoor Castle is still her home and she cares about the people who live there. But since that she can't be there in person, she can at least be a font of wisdom on the webcam. But Kaitlin, Jimmy, Rich, Dylan, Esme and Gabe still need her! Having left the castle in the hands of her cousin Rich and Jimmy, spectral ancestors Gabe and Esme, her best friend Kaitlin and a new resident named Dylan, there's still plenty for Dani to worry about. Also, there is a growing relationship between Kaitlin and Rich.^[1] In this series, Rich is still coming up with money-making schemes for the castle - and sets up a brand new radio station, Bogmoor FM. However, the radio station is disliked by the villagers and is threatened to be closed down - but with help from special guest Lindsey Russell, can the gang save Bogmoor FM?

Production

The show was filmed entirely on location at Killyleagh Castle in County Down, Northern Ireland. The first series was filmed throughout Summer 2012, and the second series was filmed throughout Summer 2013. It is produced by Paul McKenzie, with the lead writer being Paul Rose and the lead director being Dez McCarthy.

Main characters

Episodes

Broadcasting

Country	Network(s)	Notes
United Kingdom	CBBC Channel	Series 1 and 2 have aired
Australia	ABC3	Series 1 has aired

Reception

Season 1 went down well, with most episodes in the CBBC Weekly Top 10. “Dani Harmer is one of the most exciting and successful young actresses on television and this new project will really showcase her unique comedy talents and her growth as a performer,” says executive producer Elaine Sperber. “Dani has a huge following on CBBC and this new series will be a major treat for her existing and new fans”.^[2]

Criticism

"Laughter tracks are an abomination. Dani’s Castle is genuinely funny and the producers should trust their young audience to find it so, unaided and alone," says The Stage.^[3] It is possibly this review that led to the decision to make the second series free of laugh tracks.

CBBC Ratings

Season 1

Season 2

References

External links

• CBBC Dani's Castle
• ABC Dani's Castle
• Dani's Castle BBC Media Centre