TV show for babies that started in shul
Emma Hyman and family face-to-face baby club, in a TV series.”
Changing tack when her children were young, Hyman trained as an NCT teacher, running classes at the JCC and JW3. But her creative mind could not rest and, while struggling to juggle life with three young children, she threw herself back into TV. Working with a former colleague, she crystallised the idea of putting a baby group on TV. “I thought I had spotted a gap. But I felt sheepish about pitching it to the BBC. It seemed so simple. “But CBeebies wanted to broaden their appeal and thought this may be a solution. They loved it. It has taken many years to come together but I am very proud of the result.” Following three years of research and development Hyman has now recorded the first 40 episodes of The Baby Club drawing on a pool of 35 babies and parents. A second series will air in August.
“It has been a challenge at times working with babies on set, and occasionally animals, too,” she says. “We wanted to portray what goes on in a real baby club. Babies cry, they need to be fed or changed, they snatch toys and wander off. It may seem a bit chaotic but we want people to know it’s all fine and totally normal.”
‘The Baby Club’ airs every weekday on CBeebies at 10.20am and 2.20pm