Strictly Come Dancing favourite and Tracy Beaker star Dani Harmer (represented by Cole Kitchenn) returns to CBBC in the New Year in Dani's Castle, an eponymous new comedy series which sees her inherit and take over
her very own crumbling estate.
Some very special guests pop into the castle along the way, including
TV’s deadliest double-act Jedward, playing themselves, and Tracy
Beaker Returns actor Richard Wisker as another cousin with a claim on
the castle.
The 13 x 30 minute new series which picks up from where Dani’s House ended, 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.
Screenterrier followers may remember there was an open casting for Dani's Castle back in April. Joining Dani in the new series are:
Waterloo Road star 16 year old Shannon Flynn stars as Kaitlin, the daughter of the groundkeeper of the castle who recently
moved to Bogmoor from Manchester. Intelligent and pragmatic, Kaitlin
becomes a valuable asset to Dani as she tries to win the respect of the
locals. But she has little time for hopeless city boy Jimmy and her
pesky little brother Leo. Shannon, from Rochdale, is represented by Amber Personal Management in Manchester.
Actor and singer/songwriter 17 year old Kieran Alleyne from Leicester, plays soft-hearted urban boy Jimmy, who is more used to the sights of the city than
the sounds and smells of the countryside. Accident-prone and
impractical, can he adapt to life in the castle to help his new cousin
turn the estate around? Kieran (represented by Cole Kitchenn) is a presenter on CBBC's Friday Download, and at the age of 13 starred in Thriller Live as a young Michael Jackson.
Northern Irish actor 21 year old Niall Wright (represented by The Lisa Richards Agency in Dublin) plays the dashing, romantic and
chivalrous, ghostly Gabe who would make perfect boyfriend material for a
modern girl, if only he wasn’t dead and unable to go outside the castle!
He has a soft spot for Dani, much to the chagrin of little sister
Esme.
Newcomer Jordan Brown plays spirited spook Esme
who has been hanging around the castle for 250 years, so sees no reason to
bow down to the current human residents. But she’s soon willing to work
with Dani and her friends when she realises it’s her best hope for
staying in her beloved castle.
11 year old Lorenzo Rodriguez plays wannabe magician
Leo, the younger brother of Kaitlin who is rarely found without his
trusty magic wand. The trouble is, Leo’s spells rarely work out – in
fact his last spell probably burned down the town’s only internet café… Rising star Lorenzo (represented by Scream Management) also plays Wolfie in CBBC's Young Dracula and Mikey in BBC sitcom In With The Flynns.
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 extremely difficult
young ghosts – Gabriel (Niall Wright) and Esme (Jordan Brown). And
what’s more, Dani isn’t the only heir. She soon encounters a troublesome
cousin she didn’t even know she had!
With no mobile phone
reception to speak of and the castle threatening to become a burden
around her neck, Dani has no choice but to restore it to a thriving
family business. Can Dani get the better of the sceptical locals, the
isolated conditions and the meddlesome ghosts to restore the castle’s
fortunes and find herself some sort of life into the bargain? And could
she have found her romantic soulmate in the gorgeous but ghostly form
of Gabriel? Dani’s convinced he would make perfect boyfriend material –
if only he hadn’t died 250 years ago!
Dani’s Castle was entirely filmed on location at historic Killyleagh Castle in County Down, Northern Ireland and will be shown on CBBC in the New Year.