Dani's Castle

Dani's Castle
Also known as Rich Jimmy & Kait's Castle (Series 3 onwards)
Genre Sitcom
Starring
Opening theme "Ferrari" (Wonder Villains)
Country of origin United Kingdom
Original language(s) English
No. of series 3
No. of episodes 39 (list of episodes)
Production
Location(s) Killyleagh Castle, Northern Ireland
Running time 30 minutes
Production company(s) CBBC Channel
The Foundation Zodiak Media Company
Distributor BBC
CBBC
Broadcast
Original channel CBBC
ABC3
Picture format 300px
Original run 17 January 2013 – Present
Chronology
Preceded by Dani's House (2008–2012)
External links
Website

Rich Jimmy & Kait's Castle, formerly titled Dani's Castle in its first two series, 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 three 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. Series 2 of Dani's Castle aired from 14 November 2013 to 3 January 2014. Series 3 is slated to begin airing on 3 July 2015.[1] It was filmed in County Down in Northern Ireland and will introduce two new characters, Claire who will be played by Jessica Forrest and Leonie who will be played by Lucy Hutchinson. Series three of the show is to be re-named Rich Jimmy & Kait's Castle, due to Dani Harmer's exit from the show in Series 2.

Plot

Series 1

Following the events of Dani's House, Dani's Castle sees Dani re-evaluating her whole life after McHurtie's Hospital, a fictional soap opera, was cancelled. But her fortunes soon change when her Great Aunt Marjorie dies and leaves Dani with her very own castle. [2]

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,[2] 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 Kaitlyn 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.[3] 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?

Series 3

The new series is slated to air on 3 July 2015[1] and will introduce two new characters, Claire who will be portrayed by Jessica Forrest and Leonie who will be portrayed Lucy Hutchinson. Dani Harmer will not be returning as Dani, therefore the show has been re-named Rich Jimmy & Kait's Castle. Niall Wright and Jordan Brown will reprise their roles as Gabe and Esme following their brief exit in series 2. Episode 1 "Back to Bogmoor" will see their return as well as the arrival of new characters Claire (Jessica Forrest) and Leonie (Lucy Hutchinson).

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.

Cast

Series 1 opening title appearance: Dani, Jimmy, Gabe, Kaitlin, Leo, Esme
Series 2 opening title appearance: Rich, Kaitlin, Gabe, Jimmy, Esme, Dylan, Dani

Episodes

Series Episodes Originally aired
Series premiere Series finale
1 13 17 January 2013 18 April 2013
2 13 14 November 2013 3 January 2014
3 13 3 July 2015[4] TBA

Broadcasting

Country Network(s) Notes
 United Kingdom CBBC Channel Series 1 and 2 have aired, series 3 to air
 Australia ABC3 Series 1 and 2 have aired, series 3 to air

Reception

Series 1 performed 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] Harry Venning of The Stage disliked the laugh track, saying "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."[5]

CBBC Ratings

Series 1

Episode no. Airdate Viewers CBBC Weekly Ranking
1
17 January 2013
454,000
2
2
24 January 2013
450,000
3
3
31 January 2013
340,000
7
4
7 February 2013
390,000
5
5
14 February 2013
430,000
3
6
21 February 2013
210,000
 N/A
7
28 February 2013
260,000
 N/A
8
7 March 2013
440,000
1
9
21 March 2013
340,000
7
10
28 March 2013
290,000
3
11
4 April 2013
250,000
 N/A
12
11 April 2013
290,000
 N/A
13
18 April 2013
320,000
2

Series 2

Episode no. Airdate Viewers CBBC Weekly Ranking
1
14 November 2013
440,000
2
2
15 November 2013
360,000
 N/A
3
21 November 2013
380,000
4
4
22 November 2013
310,000
 N/A
5
28 November 2013
430,000
3
6
29 November 2013
360,000
 N/A
7
5 December 2013
290,000
9
8
6 December 2013
280,000
 N/A
9
12 December 2013
320,000
5
10
13 December 2013
270,000
10
11
18 December 2013
316,000
5
12
18 December 2013
364,000
2
13
3 January 2014
190,000
 N/A

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 ShannonFlynn22 (13 April 2015). "Yes Hun! But the movie @upallnightfilm is out in @vuecinemas may 22nd and #daniscastle starts again on July 3rd!" (Tweet).
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Press Release". Zodiak Media. 5 July 2012. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
  3. ↑ Dani's Castle Series 2 Returns
  4. ↑ "Shannon Flynn on Twitter". 14 April 2015. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
  5. ↑ Venning, Harry. "TV review: Dani’s Castle; My Mad Fat Diary; Father Brown : TV & radio reviews". The Stage. Retrieved 17 April 2014.

External links