MOSCOW, September 22. /ITAR-TASS/. An Amur tiger cub named "Mur" will become a new character of one of the oldest and most popular TV shows for children "Good Night, Little Ones." The first appearance of the tiger cub on "Rossiya -1" television is expected in the end of October, Board Chairman of "TRC CLASS" television Alexander Mitroshenkov told a news conference at ITAR-TASS on Monday.

"There was a wide choice of animal pets — a wolf cub, a monkey, a giraffe and others that the show producers have been considering to star in the popular TV project. The ideas were discussed with children and their parents," Mitroshenkov said at the conference.

"The idea to take an Amur tiger cub "on staff" came into our mind after an interview with President Putin who told the audiences about his active support of several ecological programs to protect rare animal species on the verge of extinction. He specified that these animals are our national treasure and that they need protection. Therefore, we came to a conclusion that the new character should be an animal facing a threat of extinction and which should tell children about ecology and explain to them how importnat it is to protect the rich nature of our planet," Mitroshenkov said.

World's oldest children's TV show

The "Good Night, Little Ones" show first came on air on September 1, 1964. There were neither puppets nor animated cartoon films in the show then. It was merely a collection of pictures featuring characters created by famous cartoon film producers, which were demonstrated to the accompaniment of stories read out from behind the scenes. Puppets made by skillful puppet designers of the world famous Sergei Obraztsov Puppet Theater came to the program years later.

Today, the show gives an immense delight to a third generation of children after 1964. Its anchors are Oksana Fedorova - winner of one of Miss Universe beauty contest, popular singer and composer Dmitry Malikov and actress Anna Mikhalkova — daughter of celebrated film director Nikita Mikhalkov.

"Good Night, Little Ones" is a three-times winner of the former prestigious TEFI award (awarded for best achievements on Russian television) it received in 1997, 2002 and 2003. It is also contesting a page of honor in the Guinness Records Book as the oldest show for kids in the world.