You're a star, Petal

by DAVID WILKES, Daily Mail

Her two young sons always loved Pauline Earles's made-up stories.

Spurred on by their enthusiasm, she tried for years to have them published.

But as the rejection slips piled high, it seemed her tales of the Petal People were destined to remain a family favourite only.

Yesterday, however, Mrs Earles, 60, was celebrating a deal which will bring her plant characters to life on television - and make her a fortune.

3D Films, one of the largest animation companies in Europe, is creating 52 ten-minute animated programmes.

The £4million series will be directed by Brian Mitchell, who worked on the animated movie Babe.

Ground Force presenter Charlie Dimmock will narrate the shows, which will also feature the voice of Joan Collins's daughter Tara Newley.

Susie Sunflower, Theodore Thistle and Doris Daisy - characters that came from a mother's imagination - could soon become household names.

Mrs Earles stands to make at least £1million if the series is a success.

'I'd just like to say to all those who didn't think the Petal People were a good idea: I told you so!' she said.

'We are in production at the moment and I'm writing for five different countries already. I've also been approached by various countries for the rights.'

Mrs Earles created the Petal People stories while she was a single mother in Zambia trying to entertain her two sons, Dax, now 28, and Baydr, 26.

'We had no TV and it was too hot for the boys to sleep so I started making up stories. I was inspired by the plants I saw growing,' she said.

It wasn't until many years later that Mrs Earles wrote down the stories and decided to try them out on other children.

But getting the big publishing houses interested in the Petal People proved impossible.

Convinced they could be a success, she gave up her job as manager of an elderly people's home and decided to publish the stories herself.

'I borrowed about £30,000 to get the books published. Then I started selling them in a local garden centre,' she said from her home in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire.

'Myself, my two sons and my son's girlfriend would dress up as the characters to promote them. For the last six years I've been touring schools across the country.'

The Petal People will be launched in April next year at MIPTV in Cannes, the television equivalent of the international film festival. The rewards for a successful children's TV show can be enormous.

Cartoonist Keith Chapman became a millionaire after dreaming up the Bob The Builder character.

The Teletubbies have made nearly a billion pounds for their creators and production companies.

3D Films said negotiations were continuing with terrestrial and satellite broadcasters, who had expressed great interest in the Petal People. A company spokesman said the programmes would 'generate a significant income' for Mrs Earles.