Bill Bailey has signed up to voice the "loyal and lovable" Wilbur the cat in a brand new animation series for pre-school children, Winnie And Wilbur.

The series is an adaptation of the popular Winnie The Witch picture books, which were created by Valerie Thomas and Korky Paul in the 1980s and have sold over 7 million copies worldwide.

The TV series, which is set to air as part of Channel 5's Milkshake strand for children, follows Winnie, a wild, unpredictable and totally lovable witch and Wilbur, her cat and her long-suffering best friend who gets caught up in Winnie's wonderfully wrong spells and their hair-raising consequences.

Bailey joins comedian Katy Brand who was announced as the voice of Winnie in November. Winnie And Wilbur is currently in production and will air on Milkshake in 2017.

Channel 5 explains: "Their amazing and hilarious adventures will be turned into fifty-two 11-minute episodes for a target audience of 4-7 year olds. Winduna [the production company] is working with the renowned animation studio King Rollo Films, to recreate the intricate, rich and lively graphical style of Korky Paul's illustrations with techniques that completely preserve the original look of the beloved book series."

Bill Bailey, who is currently on tour with his Limboland live show, says: "Winnie The Witch is already a huge hit with kids all over the world so I'm delighted to bring Wilbur to life. I've got a lot in common with this cat: we're both extremely agile, we both love cheesecake, and given half a chance, we like to fall asleep in a cosy basket."

Clair Robinson from Channel 5 comments: "Bill is the ideal choice for Wilbur and audiences will be truly tickled by his performance. Bill and Katy are a dream team as our lead characters and I cannot wait for the series to premiere on Milkshake."