Not only will junior football soon be alive and kicking in Bishop Monkton, but will be arriving with a “fantastic” monetary boost.

For nine weeks, from Monday, March 17th, the QE2 Village Hall and Playing Fields will be taken over for the filming of a new CBeebies television programme “The Football Fantastics”. Village Hall Funds will be swelled by over £20,000, with a probable additional knock on bonus for other businesses, rental properties and amenities within the village. This significant extra income will, it is anticipated, allow improvements to be made at the Hall and Playing Fields for the benefit of all residents and users.

When drawing up the contract, the Village Hall committee insisted a clause be included that stated that village amenities must be accessed wherever possible and certainly rental bookings have already been made by the production company.

Phil Goodier, Chairman Elect of the Village Hall & Playing Fields Committee, said, “We are delighted to welcome the production company and their team of actors and support crew to our village. The benefits to our finances are considerable and we expect a further benefit as money is spent in the local community. Many thanks to the clubs and societies for supporting and accommodating the changes we have had to make to enable this. We will communicate the specific plan in the next few weeks, but all affected societies have been informed and alternative arrangements are in place. The internal appearance of the hall will be temporarily transformed by the creative team, but it will be returned to its previous appearance when filming is complete. There will also be some parking constraints due to the large number of production vehicles and catering / classroom facilities.”

The series, which will have 10 episodes in this, its first season, is billed as a sitcom/pre-school comedy and is being made by Strike Productions who have been commissioned by CBeebies, the children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. As well as Bishop Monkton Hall and Playing Fields, the programme will also be filmed at Bramhope Primary School.

According to pre-publicity information “The Football Fantastics is an energetic and joyful live-action pre-school comedy about six irrepressible children brought together by their weekend football activity group. Set in Yorkshire, the children are led by a football mad coaching team and a nature loving grounds-keeper who provide a fun and chaotic Saturday morning club for them to thrive at, even if things don't always go to plan!

On the sidelines shouting support are the eccentric parents who barrel into episodes bringing slapstick and visual humour as they create complications for the kids with their over the top enthusiasm or ridiculous mishaps. The show combines larger-than-life characters, exuberant songs, dynamic action and comedy galore in a way that will delight preschoolers - whether they're football fans or not.”

Filming will take place from 6 a.m. to 6.45 p.m. every weekday (not weekends) from Monday March 17th until Friday May 16th. Obviously the hall itself and a small area of the playing fields will be unavailable during these times and so some bookings will, unavoidably, be affected. The Village Hall Committee has worked hard to ensure that alternative arrangements have been made and has prepared a full schedule of which organisations/clubs will have to be moved and where their temporary home will be for the duration of the contract. Charges for the use of the replacement venues will be met entirely by the Village Hall. Outdoor activities of bowls, croquet and tennis that take place during the week will not be impacted, neither will there be any required alteration to the majority of evening bookings.

This website will publish a detailed list of these changes early next week and the events calendar will be kept up to date.