Cbeebies has quite simply struck gold with their series Numberjacks, which achieves the holy grail of being simultaneously educational and entertaining.

It’s almost impossible to believe that a show for pre-schoolers about maths would generate a whole generation of fans; but that is exactly what it has done and, as with any other successful TV show, those fans know the format, characters and catchphrases intimately. Which is why the audience (consisting predominantly of under-fives) engaged immediately with everything they encountered in the Numberjacks Live On Stage show.

Peppered with panto-style participation, the little ones had a great time shouting out and waving their arms around for the “in your seat” dance routines. But while the children had a good time, the show has a few flaws. Sound issues included inaudible pre-recorded dialogue and some shrill live vocals. And the decision to put the person operating the puppet of the Spooky-Spoon in a full black Milk Tray man body-suit complete with “gimp” balaclava, in spite of him being in full view on a brightly-lit stage, is a bit dubious.

But the biggest disappointment is that the show has no live Numberjacks. The only numbers on stage are 1, 3 and 4, and these are just padded costumes, with no animatronics or animated parts.

While other contemporary productions for children manage to create entertainment with a higher production value and broader cross-generational appeal, this may go some way to explaining why this spin-off is not as successful as its television counterpart.