Dani's House

Dani's House
Created by	Paul Rose Gary Parker Emma Ko
Starring	Dani Harmer Harry Culverhouse Klariza Clayton Sebastian Applewhite James Gandhi Darragh Mortell Steff Alexander Millie Innes
Opening theme	"Free" by Dani Harmer
Country of origin	United Kingdom
No. of episodes	65 (List of episodes)
Production
Producer(s)	Paul McKenzie Jemma Rodgers Lucy Robinson Jo Willett
Running time	30 mins
Broadcast
Original channel	CBBC BBC Two BBC One ABC3
Picture format	1080i (HDTV)
Original run	26 September 2008 (2008-09-26) – 19 July 2012 (2012-07-19)
Chronology
Followed by	Dani's Castle (2013-2014)

Dani's House is a British children's sitcom series broadcast on CBBC and starring Dani Harmer. The first series premiered on 26 September 2008, and its fifth series concluded on 19 July 2012. It has received several awards and nominations from BAFTA Kids.^[1] A spin-off called Dani's Castle began airing in 2013.

Production

In early 2008, the BBC announced a new 13-episode children’s sitcom that stars Dani Harmer from The Story of Tracy Beaker series.^[2][3] The first series was filmed in June and July 2008 entirely in Kent at a secret location near Maidstone. The series began airing on 26 September on CBBC. The popularity of the show resulted in the ordering of a second series, which was filmed in Edinburgh during the early summer of 2009, and was broadcast that fall. A third series was filmed in the summer of 2010 and aired from September to December of that year. Series 4 followed in 2011 with a similar broadcast schedule as the third series. The fifth and final series was filmed from November 2011 to February 2012 and aired from 26 April to 19 July.

Plot

Dani is a teenage actress and singer who is regularly left in charge of her younger brother Max, his friend Ben, and their youngest sibling, "the baby from hell". She and her friends Toby and Sam spend most of their time at her house in a den hangout. As they go about their lives, they encounter some bizarre situations. Meanwhile, two aliens known as Coordinators observe their actions. In series 2, Dani's family has moved to a new house. Toby has gone to medical school, and Dani becomes friends with Jack. The "baby from hell" is no longer referenced but is replaced by a "cat from hell", who also disappears in series 3.

In series 4, Dani gets a part in the soap opera McHurties Hospital. Her friend Sam has been training to become an astronaut, and eventually leaves the cast to become a scientist and space-explorer for NASA. Ruby, Dani's enthusiastic personal trainer, joins the cast, as well as Maisy, her prank-pulling younger sister, the latter of whom becomes a foil for Max.

In series 5, Dani continues her career as an actress, while Jack works as a DJ, and Ruby continues as a personal trainer. Max pursues a career as a grime artist, and goes on a world tour. Their cousin Megaboyd teams up with Maisy and plays pranks on Dani and her friends. Ben tries to find some new hobbies.

Characters

Main characters

• Dani (Dani Harmer) (series 1-5 starring): Dani is a teenage^{[note 1]} actress and singer who is usually homebound in order to look after her younger brother Max and their infant brother.^{[note 2]} She hangs out with her friends at the house, and undergoes various adventures. She feuds regularly with Max, who is always trying to annoy and to embarrass her. In series 4, she takes an acting gig as Nurse Emily Woodmagnet in the TV drama McHurties Hospital.
• Toby (Harry Culverhouse) (series 1 starring): Toby is Dani's friend. He is obsessed with his hair and regularly spikes it up with gel. In series 1, he takes a large number of jobs ranging from a waiter to a pet-sitter. He gets along with Max's friend Ben. In series 2, he leaves for medical school, but makes a guest appearance in the series 2 Christmas special "Scrooge Tube". He shares a secret handshake with Jack, and also appears in the series 5 finale at Dani's party.
• Sam (Klariza Clayton) (series 1-4 starring): Sam is Dani's best friend. Her interests are in science and she spends much of her time at the village library. Her idol is Professor Brian Cox, and she can not stand anyone that criticises him. She likes everything to be neat and tidy. In series 4, she plans to train as an astronaut for NASA and leaves the show mid-season, returning for the series 5 finale.
• Max (Sebastian Applewhite) (series 1-5 starring): Max is Dani's younger brother. He aspires to rule the world and annoy his sister along the way. His lifetime ambition is to become a millionaire with his friend Ben. In series 5, he becomes a grime star and goes on a world tour, where he does not reappear until the series finale at Dani's party.
• Ben (James Gandhi) (series 1-5 starring): Ben is Max's "none-too-bright" best friend^[4] who spends a lot of time at Dani's house. He thinks up many of the devious schemes that he and Max get involved, although Max always claims credit for them. Max often treats Ben badly, although there was one episode where Ben's pet axolotl dies, and Max prepares a funeral for it. In some of the series 4 episodes where Max is not around, he initiates his own schemes.
• Jack (Darragh Mortell) (series 2-5 starring): Jack joins the cast as Dani's close friend at the beginning of series 2. He enjoys eating junk food, especially doughnuts. As a DJ, Jack regularly plays at different gigs, kid parties, and occasional competitions. At one point, he participates in the same TV drama as Dani, much to her annoyance.
• Ruby (Steff Alexander) (series 4-5 starring):^{[note 3]} Ruby is Dani's energetic personal trainer. She becomes good friends with Dani and regularly visits the house.
• Maisy (Millie Innes) (series 4-5 starring):^{[note 3]} Maisy is Ruby's younger sister. She is mischievous and shares a fierce rivalry with Max.

Supporting characters

• Coordinators Zang and Zark (Harry Culverhouse and Dani Harmer) (series 1-5): These two are green aliens who are travelling together across the universe. They are supposedly on a secret mission to discover more about the human race, but in fact this is just an excuse to sit about and watch "Dani's House". They are heavily influenced by the programme, and often attempt to copy what they see, with comic results.
• Megaboyd (Daniel Roche) (series 5 recurring) is Dani's "self-reinvented cousin". He often conspires with Maisy on various schemes.^[5]

Episodes

Awards and nominations

Dani's House has received multiple nominations from Children's BAFTA Awards .

Ratings

International Broadcast

Country	Network(s)	Notes
United Kingdom	BBC One CBBC	Series 1-5 have aired
Australia	ABC3	Series 1-5 have aired
Ireland	TRTÉ	Series 1-3 have aired, Series 4-5 have not aired
Mexico	Canal Once	N/A
Catalonia	TV3 Catalunya	N/A
Portugal	RTP	N/A
Poland	Canal+ Poland	N/A
Italy	RaiSat	N/A
Kuwait	KTV2	N/A

^[6]

Spin-off

In July 2012, the CBBC commissioned Zodiak Kids to produce a new TV comedy series starring Harmer. In the spin-off, Dani inherits an old castle in Northern Ireland from her deceased Aunt Marjorie. The first series aired in January 2013, and the second series finished in 2014.^[7]

Notes

References

External links

• Dani's House at BBC Programmes
• Dani's House at the Internet Movie Database