A "typical" British family has been chosen from thousands of hopefuls to become the stars of a ground-breaking animation series for children's channel Nickelodeon billed as an antidote to the "abnormal" Simpsons.
The trials and tribulations of family life in the Moores' Leicestershire home will be shown every weekday evening on Nickelodeon from next week.
The broadcaster, which began its search for a British family to act as the prototype for the cartoon in July last year, said the Moores had been chosen for their entertaining personalities and hectic lifestyle.
Howard Litton, the Nickelodeon director of programmes, said the broadcaster had "searched high and low" to find the perfect family on which to base the cartoon, called Meet the Moores.
"The Moore family caught the judges' eye as a result of their entertaining personalities, their wacky approach to life and the scope for excellent storylines around their hectic lifestyle," he said.
"We felt they epitomised the typical British family."
He added that their Leicestershire accent would add an authentic British flavour to the cartoon.
The family, from Shepshed, is headed by Robert, 50, a second hand car salesman, and Tania, 35, an administrative assistant at Loughborough University and a former air hostess.
They have four children: Jack, 15, who is a keen DJ and runs a mobile disco; Roberta, 11, whose lifetime ambition is to meet Duncan from Blue; Eliza, nine, a keen gymnast with a passion for disco dancing; and Jemimah, three, described by her mother as "a cross between a whirlwind and Houdini".
"The whole family is absolutely gobsmacked. We can't speak with excitement. We feel like superstars and can't wait to see our cartoon. The neighbours are going to be blown away," said Mrs Moore.
A spokeswoman for the show said it should appeal to British viewers because it would reflect every aspect of "normal" life.
"This is a real life family doing everyday things. Shows like The Simpsons are not at all like a real-life family - there is nothing on television at the moment that kids can watch and learn from," she said.
Meet the Moores will hit 8m TV screens at 5pm on May 5 on the
Sky Digital channel, Nicktoons TV.
01-05-2003
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