By Geraldine Gittens
Wednesday September 22 2010
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A NEW Irish-made cartoon series has become the first television series in the world to have a main character with Down Syndrome -- and it is set to take the world by storm.
The new RTE series Punky, which will be aimed at pre-school children, features a six-year-old girl who lives with her family, and encounters daily adventures like any other child.
Gerard O'Rourke, from production company Monster Animation, says Punky is a playful little girl who overcomes many daily challenges, but she is slightly differently to other children.
Already international TV companies from the United States, UK, and Australia are showing keen interest.
Punky will be broadcast by RTE's Young People's Programming in the New Year, and it will feature 20 seven-minute-long episodes.
"It's the first [series] where the main character has Down Syndrome, from all of our research to date," said Mr O'Rourke.
"It was unique and scary to deal with the subject matter on a mainstream cartoon. Down Syndrome Ireland provided a great be...
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