Poppy Cat role for Welsh star Page

Gavin And Stacey star Joanna Page is to star as a cartoon cat in a new children's TV show.

The Welsh actress will be the voice of Poppy Cat in a pre-school series based on the popular books by writer Lara Jones.

The series launches on ITV1 and CITV from Saturday.

Joanna said: "Everybody loves Poppy Cat - the books have been such a success. So to actually play Poppy Cat is such an honour and I'm over the moon."

And she added that it has given her a new insight into how her voice sounds to others.

"In my head I think I've got a very deep mature-sounding English voice. And then I hear my voice as Poppy Cat and think 'Oh my gosh, I actually do sound like I've got quite a lilt in my voice and my voice is quite high'."

The book series has sold more than 2.5 million copies worldwide since first being published in 2003.

The new 26-episode TV show will be screened on the channels on Saturdays and Sundays at 7am.