Press & Media Enquiries

Kathy Rustell — Creator & Director -Dan the Gardener & Friends

Email: info@danthegardener.com -Tel: 01271 815128 -Website: www.danthegardener.com

For pitch bible requests, interview enquiries, character assets and press materials, please contact us directly. We aim to respond within 48 hours.

LATEST PRESS RELEASE

April 2026

DEVON CREATOR LAUNCHES DEVELOPMENT CAMPAIGN FOR ORIGINAL BRITISH PRESCHOOL ANIMATION SERIES AFTER TWENTY YEARS IN THE MAKING

Dan the Gardener & Friends announces completed pitch bible and seeks production partners ahead of CBeebies, Milkshake and international broadcaster pitches

DEVON, UK — Kathy Rustell, Devon-based creator and founder of Dan the Gardener & Friends, has announced the completion of a full pitch bible for her original British preschool animation series and the launch of an active campaign to secure production partners and broadcaster interest.

Dan the Gardener & Friends is a warm, funny, nature-led preschool animation series set in the woodland village of Three Little Woods, where community gardener Dan and a richly drawn cast of friends inspire children aged 5–7 to explore the natural world, care for the environment, and discover that small acts of kindness grow into something wonderful. The series is described by its creator as sitting in the space between Bluey and JoJo & Gran Gran.

The project has been in development for twenty years, beginning as a set of hand-drawn characters inspired by Rustell’s own family — a community gardener, a grandmother who grew everything she cooked, a loyal dog who thought he was in charge, and a butterfly who had seen more of the world than anyone else in the village. The cast has since grown into a fully realised ensemble of more than seventeen characters, each with their own personality, backstory and story potential.

Rustell’s daughter Jennifer has recently joined the project as creative partner, bringing a fresh perspective and the lived experience of the next generation of parents to a world she helped inspire as a child.

“Twenty years ago, I started sketching these characters at my kitchen table,” said Kathy Rustell. “They grew with my family, changed as the world changed, and became something I genuinely believe children need right now, a place that feels safe, funny and full of the natural world. Three Little Woods is a world where everyone belongs and everything grows.”

The completed pitch bible includes full character profiles, detailed episode concepts, series arc, visual style direction and market positioning. The project is being presented to leading UK independent animation studios and broadcasters including CBeebies and Channel 5’s Milkshake, with international platform interest also being explored.

Dan the Gardener & Friends already has an established and growing audience, with an active following across Instagram and Pinterest, generating more than 14,000 combined monthly engagements, entirely organic and ahead of any broadcast or marketing spend.

The series is intended as a 3D CGI production for ages 5–7, with a format of 26 x 11 minutes per series. Themes include nature, ecology, intergenerational friendship, community, creativity, and the quiet magic of growing things.

“What makes this project unusual is the depth behind it,” said Jennifer Rustell. “This isn’t a concept looking for a world — the world already exists in extraordinary detail. The characters, the village, the stories,  they’ve all been lived in for two decades. That’s rare.”

For press enquiries, pitch bible requests or interview opportunities, contact: info@danthegardener.com

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Notes to Editors:

About Dan the Gardener & Friends

Dan the Gardener & Friends is an original British preschool animation series in development, set in the woodland village of Three Little Woods. Created by Kathy Rustell and developed over twenty years, the series follows community gardener Dan and his friends as they explore nature, care for the environment, and discover that small actions make a real difference. The series targets children aged 5–7 and is intended as a 26 x 11-minute 3D CGI production. For further information, visit www.danthegardener.com 

About Kathy Rustell

Kathy Rustell is a Devon-based creator, web designer and founder of Dan the Gardener & Friends. She has been developing the Dan the Gardener world for twenty years alongside illustrator Andy, drawing on a lifelong passion for nature, gardening and the environment. She is also the founder of BYBO Digital.

About Jennifer Rustell

Jennifer Rustell is a creative partner and co-developer on Dan the Gardener & Friends. One of the children who originally inspired the project has joined as a full creative partner, bringing both generational perspective and fresh creative energy to the development of the series.

Media contact: info@danthegardener.com / 01271 815128 or +44 (0) 7884313094

AT A GLANCE

ABOUT THE SERIES

Dan the Gardener & Friends is set in Three Little Woods, a sunlit British woodland village where the gardens are always worth exploring and the community always comes together when it matters. At its heart is Dan — a passionate, warm-hearted gardener who believes that the best things in life grow slowly, and that caring for the world around you is the most important job there is.

Alongside Dan live Nan Fran, his warm and wise grandmother who grows everything she cooks; Jake, a boy whose boundless energy meets every challenge headfirst; Jasmine, his thoughtful best friend who always has a plan; Recycle Michael, Three Little Woods’ enthusiastic eco-champion; Gigi the butterfly, who has travelled the world and come back full of stories; and a cast of more than seventeen characters, each as vivid and individual as the world they inhabit.

Every episode is grounded in nature and driven by character. Stories grow from real things,  a garden that needs saving, a recycling project gone entertainingly wrong, a seed that refuses to sprout, a friendship tested by a thunderstorm. Children come away from each episode feeling curious, capable, and ready to go outside and try something. Three Little Woods is a world that extends beyond the screen — and that, in the end, is the whole point.

ABOUT KATHY RUSTELL

Kathy Rustell is a Devon-based creator and the founder of Dan the Gardener & Friends. A lifelong lover of nature, gardening and the outdoors, she began developing the Dan the Gardener world twenty years ago, inspired by her own family and a belief that children need stories rooted in the real, growing world. She has developed the series alongside illustrator Andy, building a fully realised cast of characters, a detailed world, and hundreds of story ideas over two decades. Kathy is also the founder of BYBO Digital, a web design company based in Devon.

ABOUT JENNIFER RUSTELL

Jennifer Rustell is a creative partner and co-developer on Dan the Gardener & Friends. One of the children who originally inspired the project, she has joined the team as a full creative partner — bringing both a direct connection to the show’s origins and the lived experience of a parent and a new generation. Her involvement has deepened the project’s sense of family and given it a voice that spans two generations of the same story.

PRESS RESOURCES

All press materials are available on request. Please use the links below or contact us directly at info@danthegardener.com

Available on request:
— Press kit (PDF) including full press release, character summaries and series overview
— Character images (high resolution JPG)
— Logo files (PNG and SVG)
— Pitch bible (available to verified industry professionals — please use the request form below)

To request the pitch bible, please complete the form below with your name, company, role and contact details. We will respond within 24 hours.