Jingle bells will soon be ringing in the halls of Malory Towers thanks to a two-part Christmas special commissioned by British pubcaster from series producers WildBrain and King Bert Productions.

Production for the 2 x 25-minute Malory Towers Christmas special was done in tandem with season four in the U.K. and Canada this past June. Both are coproduced by WildBrain and King Bert Productions for CBBC, in association with U.S. channel BYUtv. Malory Towers is slated to return to CBBC and BBC iPlayer this December with the special.

Based on the novels by Enid Blyton, Malory Towers is adapted by lead writers Rachel Flowerday and Sasha Hails. Season four is directed by Bruce McDonald and Tracey Rooney and produced by David Collier, with WildBrain producers Angela Boudreault and Daniel Bourré. Jo Sargent and Yvonne Sellins of King Bert Productions, and Josh Scherba and Anne Loi of WildBrain serve as executive producers.

WildBrain holds international distribution rights outside of the U.K. The media company already sold the new season and special to Australia’s ABC Kids and “will be bringing the full Malory Towers catalogue to MIPCOM this month,” according to a news release.

Malory Towers was commissioned by BBC Children’s head of commissioning and acquisitions Sarah Muller and is executive produced for the BBC by Amy Buscombe and Alison Davis. The rights were acquired from Hachette Children’s Group, owners of Enid Blyton Entertainment and publisher of Malory Towers.

New cast members for the two-part special include Charles Jackson and Valerie Lilley (Bloodlands). Meanwhile, season four’s new additions include April Woods, Edesiri P. Okpenerho, Amy Roerig, Kimia Lamour, Aviella Burch, and Ava Azizi.

The returning cast includes Ella Bright, Zoey Siewert, Danya Griver, Sienna Arif-Knights, Imogen Lamb, Natasha Raphael, Beth Bradfield, Amelie Green, Jude Harper-Wrobel, Jason Callender, Geneviève Beaudet, Ashley McGuire (This is Going to Hurt), and Jennifer Wigmore (Adult Adoption, Anne).

Caroline Tyre, WildBrain’s VP of global sales and rights strategy, said in a statement that with four seasons and a new Christmas special, “Malory Towers is a genuine international hit that continues to be discovered by new fans around the globe,” adding that the stories are “heart-warming, sincere and relatable.”

Image courtesy of WildBrain