Interestingly, there has never been so much children's programming on British television, with approximately 25 dedicated channels and 1,13,000 hours of programmes each year.

However, according to figures in the Ofcom report, cartoons accounted for 61 per cent of the children's programming. A mere 1 per cent of children's programming was made in the UK and being broadcast for the first time.

The regulator said that parents value highly the role children's TV plays in society and want more drama and factual programmes for older children.

Ofcom claimed that although BBC had increased its children's output, ITV and other main commercial channels had cut theirs by more than 50 per cent with declining ad spends in the midst of growing competition.