Shaftesbury Films has chosen IToys to produce a series of electronic handheld and tabletop games for Life with Derek.

IToys, which holds a worldwide licence for the live-action kids series, will roll out the first of the games during first quarter 2009.

This is the second cross-marketing deal in recent months for the kids series, which airs on Family Channel and VRAK. A deal for a series of kids books was sealed with Grosset & Dunlap, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group, in early February. The series airs in more than 100 countries.

‘Life with Derek is a fantastic show filled with real life drama and fun, and we are thrilled to participate in growing the property to a wider audience,’ said IToys exec George Irwin in a statement. ‘We are currently developing toys that will enable kids to enjoy their own Life with Derek experiences at home with their own families and friends.’

‘IToys has built a reputation for creating award-winning products for contemporary consumers and we felt they’d be an ideal partner for imaginative products that will uphold the integrity of the Life with Derek brand as it is integrated into new categories,’ added Shaftesbury sales and marketing VP Shane Kinnear.