BGT's Alesha to continue CBBC dance show

BGT's Alesha to continue CBBC dance show
BGT's Alesha to continue CBBC dance show (Image credit: PA Wire/Press Association Images)

Alesha Dixon is to host a further series of her BBC children's dance show despite her departure to ITV for Britain's Got Talent. The former Strictly Come Dancing star was lured to the commercial network earlier this year by BGT boss Simon Cowell to join the judging panel. However, it has been announced that her programme for CBBC, Alesha's Street Dance Stars, will return for a further 10-part series. In the show she scours the country to find talented young dance crews. A spokeswoman for the channel said Alesha was free to continue making the show as she is not tied to a particular channel. The new season of CBBC shows also includes a series which shows young viewers the hidden team of people who support a number of high-profile figures to give them an insight into fame. Five-part series Secret World will go behind the scenes to look at the work of House Of Commons speaker John Bercow, English National Ballet dancers and under-18 players at Manchester City's Football Academy. Another new show, Superhumans, will be hosted by explorer Tim Fitzhigham and tracks down real people whose bodies possess superhero qualities. CBBC controller Damian Kavanagh said: "These recent additions to the CBBC pipeline are all very different and each brings something new for our audience to experience and enjoy. "It's important that we continue to offer children programmes they wouldn't find anywhere else except on CBBC."

Patrick McLennan

Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix. 

An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.