CBeebies animated sitcom Nikhil & Jay announces voice cast

Coming to CBeebies later this year, animated sitcom Nikhil & Jay is based on books by Chitra Soundar and follows the adventures of two Indian-British brothers and their adorable family.

The two young brothers have an Indian mother and an English father. Producers explain: “With both Indian and English grandparents, their lives are a rich mix of customs, traditions, festivals, food and music. Nikhil & Jay celebrate the similarities and differences with fun and relatable stories that authentically portray British-Asian dual heritage children and are full of warmth, heart and humour.”

British Tamil actress Charithra Chandran, who starred in How To Date Billy Walsh (pictured) and Edwina Sharma in Bridgertonleads the voice cast as Mother Amma.

She says: “It’s really wonderful to see a programme like this on the BBC and to see how my culture is represented there. I never experienced anything like this growing up.”

The series also features comedic talents Janine Duvitski as Nana, Mark Benton as Grandpa Jim and Tez Ilyas as friend and neighbor Mr. Awan.

Ben Harris plays the boys’ father, Appa, Janaki Sabesh voices Grandma Ammamma, Ravi Swami voices Grandpa Thatha and Harriet Carmichael plays the family cat Max.

Making their voice acting debut in the title roles are 7-year-olds Shiv Senthilkumar and Sai Ganesh Nadesan, who lend their voices to Nikhil and Jay respectively and are proud of their Tamil heritage.

Kate Morton, Senior Head of Commissioning at CBeebies, said: “Seeing your own life and all its traditions and values ​​reflected on screen is so important for little ones and their development as they learn to understand the world around them. Nikhil & Jay will bring viewers from all cultures together with heartwarming stories from the lives of British Asian families.”

Nikhil & Jay will launch on CBeebies later this year.