A LIVE version of CBeebies’ In the Night Garden is coming to Swindon.

The BAFTA-winning, lullaby-filled programme has been a favourite among toddlers and infants since the first shows aired a dozen years ago.

Only 100 episodes were ever made, but the programme remains part of the daily bed time routine for children in millions of households.

Now the adventures of Igglepiggle, Makka Pakka, Upsy Daisy and friends have been adapted for a 40-stop theatre tour which will include four daytime performances at the Wyvern on Wednesday and Thursday, September 25 and 26.

A hit among parents and grandchildren as well as young fans, In the Night Garden Live has been seen by celebrities including Billie Piper, Robbie Williams, Adele and Amanda Holden.

Show creator Andrew Davenport said: “The characters speak almost entirely in play language, which is hugely important to language development.

“Children recognise the nursery rhyme silliness of it, they love the funny language and characters and the attention to detail that’s within them, and they love the whole fantasy of the Night Garden world - but I think, at the end of it, that it’s the comedy that draws them in.”

The show tells the story of Igglepiggle’s Busy Day, during which he searches for his friends by following their funny sounds until he finds them all.

The costumes are designed by Tahra Zafar, a costumier and expert in animatronics and puppetry whose CV includes Harry Potter and Star Wars films and working with the Queen on her surprise role in the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympics.

Her proudest achievement, though, is having worked on Night Garden character Upsy Daisy, which was her first job after maternity leave with her daughter, who is now 14. Tahra sometimes jokes that Upsy Daisy, the always-happy character with multicoloured hair, is a bit like her other daughter.

Tahra is a committed advocate of children’s theatre.

“Straitened budgets and a 1950s-style emphasis only on reading, writing and arithmetic means that creativity is being sucked out of schools.

“So it’s more important for us on In the Night Garden Live, and in children’s arts in general, to make sure we do out jobs really well.

“We have a responsibility to get everything right to fill that gap. Children’s theatre is about being together, taking in a shared experience, escaping everyday worries, being taken somewhere different.”

Producer Oliver Seadon said: “It’s such a heart-meltingly brilliant thing to hear the hysteria when Igglepiggle first appears on stage in front of his little fans - there’s a sort of glow of happiness throughout the theatre.

“In their minds he exist’s - he’s real - and they’re all so excited to see him.

“Making shows for two-year-olds is brilliant. They’re so vocal when you get it right - and when you get it wrong.

“My favourite ever clip that one parent shared on social media after seeing In the Night Garden Live had her two-year-old daughter repeating over and over, ‘Mummy, it’s amazing. Wow, it’s amazing. It’s amazing.’

“I think she says it around15 times! As a theatre producer you can’t really wish for a better review than that.”

Tickets for In the Night Garden Live, which runs for a little under an hour, are priced from £17 to £21, with no charge for babies aged up to six months, and £2 off for children aged six months and over.

The booking office can be contacted on 01793 524481 and via swindontheatres.co.uk