Zog voice actor Samson Kayo on keeping his identity for new series and whether he'll return for season 2

All little ones love the magic and whimsy of Julia Donaldson's fantastical stories; from The Gruffalo to The Highway Rat, there's something for every little one - and big one, too.

One of her characters that seems to have transcended is Zog and his friends Princess Pearl and Sir Gadabout (known collectively as The Flying Doctors).

Cbeebies is about to launch a new 52-episode series about Zog and his adventures, with the wonderful dragon this time voiced by Samson Kayo (Bloods). Princess Pearl is played by Patsy Ferran (Miss Austen) and Will Merrick (Skins) lends his voice to Sir Gadabout.

Radio Times caught up with Kayo ahead of the new series, which flies on to screens on Monday 18 May.

"I've always love the language [Donaldson] uses in her storytelling, I think it's beautiful. At first I was a bit surprised they wanted me to come and read for Zog," Kayo explained. "Once I went in and met the team at Magic Light Pictures, I felt the confidence from them that I could do this justice. It's such a big deal, and I take it very seriously! I was nervous as to how I would step in it, but alas, 52 episodes later, here we are."

For Kayo, it was important to keep an element of his identity playing an animated children's character, while also staying faithful to Donaldson's original creation - something he interprets as a great success within the series.

"I'm a Black man from South London, and where I come from, Zog felt like a pipe dream. To be given the opportunity felt like a blessing and as if it was supposed to happen. For me, I want to do the world of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler justice, whilst also keeping true to my identity and culture. What I love with Zog is that in my voice, you hear a beautiful, loveable dragon, but you also hear me."

As voice artists will know all too well, but members of the public may not, it's hard work performing with just a voice - tiring, but a lot of fun, according to Kayo, who is now on his second voice acting project (the first being a role in Puss in Boots).

"I still feel like a student, but I love that because it adds to Zog's innocence! What a lot of people don't understand is that it's fun. When I go in there, I crank up the AC (because comedy is better served cold) and I'm flying around the room, playing with this character. Puss in Boots felt more structured, but Zog felt more free - that's the world that Magic Light orchestrated."

Zog, ultimately, is a fun and lightly educational series for children, teaching them social and educational skills in a light-hearted way, and it's the "unorthodox" teaching methods that appealed to Kayo.

"Zog is a beautiful animation, full of characters. As a fan of animation, cartoon and anime, every time I watch one, I always find myself within one of the characters. I feel like young people are going to see the world and be able to find themselves within it. The older generation are going to see that a lot of the subjects we touch on actually affect adult lives - as well as educating children, it educates parents. It's a beautiful generational blend that's been created and I'm really proud of it."

If he was invited back for another 52 episodes? "I'll oil my wings immediately - I am Zog, and I'll scream if I'm not!"

The Zog series starts on CBeebies on Monday 18 May.

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