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There are many places where inspiration can strike but, for producer Allan Johnston, a key moment came when he was getting in a lift in a Budapest hotel, he explains:

"Originally Chris and Pui came to me with an idea for a fizzy, factual magazine programme called Show Me Show Me which would contain songs, sketches and stories. They asked me if I'd like to look at it from an educational point of view and we started to look at the detail of the series, with a pivotal reference point that runs through all children's lives and that was 'play'. Then, I was in a lift in a Budapest hotel and it started counting up and I thought 'let's put this playroom somewhere up high!' And that really sets the mood and flavour of the programme."

So how did Allan and his team start making the playroom a magical place for viewers to visit?

"The point of inspiration was a Japanese bookstore – so everything was multi-layered and soft and had a flowing feeling," he explains. ""We also created little areas that could mirror children's experience of playgroup – like a little stage area, a reading area and a make-and-do area – but without making those too rigid. When you watch little children they never go the most direct route somewhere – they'll go through a tunnel, climb over a wall and then eventually get there, exploring as they go – so we wanted to mirror that in the set too."

As producer of the award-winning and much-lauded CBeebies' series Something Special, Allan Johnston has vast experience of making educational television accessible and entertaining for a very young audience and his teaching background helps too:

"I am an ex-teacher and my wife is head of early years in a school so I'm very well entrenched in the whole educational area," says Allan.

"Basically, we looked at the Early Years Foundation Curriculum and took the 'knowledge and understanding' theme from that, particularly the 'exploration and investigation' section, and used it as a massive springboard into the programme but we then had to concentrate on how the magic of television and CBeebies could bring those themes to life.

"Our main buzz phrase was 'there's an adventure in every object'. We didn't want to see children as receptacles and fill them up but use the knowledge they already had and work with them. So we would take a subject like farms and explore that subject in different ways – either by a story, a song or a little painting – it's the same thing that goes on in playgroups and nurseries around the country.

"But everything kept coming back to the key theme of play and that's where the toy characters came in," Allan adds.

"Toys are such an important part of a children's world and I thought back to when my daughter was little and she was given a little, crocheted mouse called Miss Mouse. I used to tell stories all about Miss Mouse's adventures and my daughter developed a very close relationship with her so I wanted to reflect this in the show and bring out this incredibly imaginative and creative play which is so important to children."

With a wealth of choice on children's television, how does Allan feel Show Me Show Me is distinctive?

"There aren't actually many programmes around for this specifically young audience," says Allan. ""But I think it's special because it's two very familiar people who are loved, valued, respected and trusted on screen talking directly to children. We've worked to make the pace, mood and the style of the programme distinctive by slowing it down and making it quirky and charming. It's that quirkiness and charm that make it a special world for children – Chris and Pui's special world."

As hugely popular presenters Chris and Pui prepare to return to CBeebies, after leaving their roles as regular presenters last year, Allan reflects on their special appeal:

"This is going to sound really corny but they have a genuine love for each other and for the audience and that warmth and affection just comes over in bucket loads," says Allan.

"When you put the two of them together in front of a camera you can tell that they like each other and really care for the audience. Pui is a mum herself so she really understands the important role that television plays in children's lives and Chris has been involved in children's broadcasting for 20 years. What they put into the programmes is so much effort and commitment and they take it really, really seriously."

Finally, what are the joys for Allan of working on shows like Something Special and Show Me Show Me for CBeebies?

"One of the things about working for CBeebies is that you have the ability to touch little children's lives and it doesn't get much better than getting an email from a parent saying that a child has done something for the very first time after watching your programme," says Allan.

"On Show Me Show Me, I tasked every member of the team to think of a child they wanted to talk to. Mine went back to when I worked as teacher in Bermondsey and I taught a little boy called Mark whose mother worked and had to leave the house at 5am. Mark used to have to get himself ready and his little sister ready and get themselves both to school. And I just thought if Mark could have spent a little time playing with Chris and Pui in the morning it could have made a difference. And that's what's so special about working on CBeebies – television for these children isn't throwaway – it has an impact and it makes a real difference."