Break out the lemonade - Enid Blyton's Famous Five are to be turned into cartoon characters.

And the best-selling author's daughter, Gillian Baverstock, who lives in Ilkley says the new animated series could even rival hit show The Simpsons and give yellow-head Homer a run for his money.

"It'll give the Famous Five a new lease of life," she said.

"Having watched my grandchildren gripped by The Simpsons and other cartoon channels I'm sure the Famous Five have got what it takes to be just as enthralling - if not more so."

"Children like to believe they can cope and be in control perfectly well without adult interference and that's what the Famous Five adventures are about - adults having a minimal role."

Just last year the Famous Five topped a poll of which books adults most enjoyed as children.

Now today's children look set to enjoy the classic in animated form.

Julian, Dick, Anne, George and Timmy the Dog are to return to the small screen in a new animated series made up of 26 episodes lasting 26 minutes each.

But fans will have to wait until early 2007 before the adventures, based on Blyton's original books, are screened.

Major television companies in the UK, France and Germany have already shown "strong interest" in the series which is being developed by entertainment group Chorion, which owns Enid Blyton's literary copyrights, and Paris-based production company Marathon.

Famous Five will be the second Blyton brand Chorion has brought to the small screen. Its Make Way for Noddy programmes are already broadcast in more than 100 countries around the world and rank among Britain's top children's TV exports.

Blyton's series of 21 Famous Five adventures were written between 1942 and 1963 and are still flying off the shelves.

They have never been out of print - selling more than 1.4 million copies annually in Europe and more than 450,000 copies in the UK.

Chorion chairman Waheed Ali said the Famous Five represented the heartland of generations of young readers throughout Europe: He added: "I am delighted that we will be making an animated television series that will allow us to introduce the characters to an even wider global audience."