One of East Lancashire's most coveted actors is pursuing a new venture in educational children's videos targeted at children across Europe.

Colne’s Jessica Forrest, who starred in Hollyoaks, Brassic and Coronation Street, has launched her new project called Little English – which encourages the learning of the language through song and animation.

She took on the venture following a move to Italy three years ago and has comprised a full curriculum as well as providing worksheets and games to complement the learning.

Jessica said: “I moved to Italy three years ago and I took my entertainment business with me and I realised children used it to learn English.

“I took the twist of teaching English through music, and I had the idea to develop the business to digital so it could reach everyone all over the world.

“English is such a universal language, and a lot of children want to speak it that don’t.

“So, I used my background as a performer and my background as an educator to develop this. It means a lot to me because I had written a whole curriculum, and there is an academic side to it and an entertainment side.”

She was also a star in CBBC drama Dani’s Castle, which featured Tracey Beaker star Dani Harmer.

Her experience on the show proved to Jessica that she loved working in the children's education side of the industry.

Jessica added: “When you learn anything through music there is the educational side of it. I was in Dani’s Castle and I love the children's world because you can be so free and you feel like you are giving back.

“Giving back to children in an educational way is so important.”

Noticing a gap in the market, whereby children's YouTube videos were repetitive and not educational and were more annoying for parents than engaging.

The channel has been a hit with a children across EuropeThe channel has been a hit with a children across Europe (Image: Jessica Forrest)

With the help of her composer Filippo Ciccioli, she has aimed to make the music enjoyable for adults as well and create engaging graphics with her illustrator Cath Appleton.

She added: “The music is really cool, and it is not just for children to enjoy, and I am really into my rock and roll and Artic Monkeys and I am usually the first and last person on the dance floor – always.

“I want to make kids music that adults could enjoy as well, and I see my sister and my niece watching the same things and nursery rhymes and developing into something new and developing into something new that is original.”

To access the product parents, pay €25 which gives a different topic each week, covering anything from traffic to transport.

In January they are looking to give a new option for teachers and schools with an explanation of how they can use the materials and make the children in class learn.

Jessica added: “Over the summer we worked and every Friday we released a new song over YouTube and a lot of people said that the kids love it and it has been positive.”

There are also lots of nods to the entertainment industry throughout their work, with actress Jessie Cave doing animation for one video and Andy Mark, who worked with Jessica on Hollyoaks, acting as a voice actor for their new story collection.

The story collection will get underway on Christmas Eve and features Baa-bara, who is a favourite with the viewers.

You can watch the Youtube videos on their channel called littleenglishtv.