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Two popular children's shows have been taken off the air by the BBC to address a gender imbalance.

Generations of youngsters have grown up watching Fireman Sam and Bob the Builder - with Bob even topping the pop charts twice in 2000 and 2001.

But now both have been removed from CBeebies' schedules to make way for the introduction of a raft of new female-led shows, controller Kay Benbow has told The Times .

Across the BBC there has been a drive to address inequality between the sexes with women landing a number of prominent roles.

But as animations take a certain amount of time to be made, the children's channel has taken longer to catch up.

In her interview, Ms Benbow, who steps down this month after seven years at the helm of CBeebies, said both Fireman Sam and Bob the Builder were no longer being shown.

Shows expected to replace them in the listings include Bitz and Bob, about a girl engineer and her brother, and Treasure Champs, featuring the voice of Shobna Gulati.

And female stars such as Maggie Aderin-Pocock, the host of Stargazing, and Rachel Yankey, the England footballer who presents Footy Pups, have also been promoted.

The responsibility for running CBeebies will pass to Cheryl Taylor, the CBBC controller, as part of a shake-up of the corporation’s Salford-based children’s division.