# Rafi the Wishing Wizard
**Rafi the Wishing Wizard** is a British animated preschool sitcom for CBeebies, created by Tom Cousins and produced by BBC Studios Kids & Family with Blue Zoo Animation Studio. It follows seven-year-old Rafi Martin in Manchester, a determined young wizard who receives her first wishing wand on her seventh birthday and may make only one wish a day, with the recurring catch that her wishes always run out, usually at the most unexpected moment.[1](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/rafi-the-wishing-wizard/) • [2](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/blue-zoo-animation-studio_first-look-at-brand-new-bbc-studios-activity-7426649525521539072-fuOA)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Format | 2D animated preschool sitcom, roughly 7 minutes per episode[3](https://worldscreen.com/img/content/PDFs/TV-KIDS-GUIDE-OCTOBER-2025.pdf) |
| Creator | Tom Cousins, who also serves as executive producer[1](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/rafi-the-wishing-wizard/) • [4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt39760632/fullcredits/) |
| Production | BBC Studios Kids & Family with Blue Zoo Animation Studio, animated in Toon Boom 2D[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt39760632/companycredits/) • [6](https://tvtantrum.com/shows/rafi-the-wishing-wizard) |
| Broadcast | First aired Monday 16 February 2026 at 5:25pm on CBeebies[1](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/rafi-the-wishing-wizard/) |
| Episodes | Series 1 of 26 episodes aired 16 February to 20 March 2026; 52 episodes were ordered in total[1](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/rafi-the-wishing-wizard/) • [7](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/72012/rafi-the-wishing-wizard) |
| Voice cast | Mollie Hutton as Rafi, Muzz Khan as Dash, Kieron Richardson as Jake[7](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/72012/rafi-the-wishing-wizard) |
| Series 2 | Due to return; the second series was made at the same time as the first[8](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/rafi-the-wishing-wizard/episodes/) |
## Premise and rules
The story begins on Rafi's seventh birthday, when her two dads give her a very special birthday present: a wishing wand. In the Martin family, every witch and wizard receives one at age seven, and it comes with rules that Rafi must promise to follow: she can make only one wish a day, wishes always run out, and no one, not even her dads, can unwish a wish.[2](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/blue-zoo-animation-studio_first-look-at-brand-new-bbc-studios-activity-7426649525521539072-fuOA) Each episode turns an ordinary family moment into a magical one, with wishes such as a flying bed, giant goalie hands, mermaid tails, or a rocket-paced cherry tree, and the wish typically grows larger than planned before being wound back before the day ends.[6](https://tvtantrum.com/shows/rafi-the-wishing-wizard)
The premise came from a gap creator Tom Cousins identified for a preschool series about magic and transformation, and BBC Studios Kids & Family has described the show as a warm, funny series about a young wizard whose daily wish sparks magical chaos.[9](https://worldscreen.com/img/content/PDFs/TV-Kids-October-2025.pdf) Cousins has also framed it as being about surprising wishes, big laughs, and universal themes of family, friendship, and community.[10](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/tom-cousins-766b4823_pridemonth-animation-lgbtqrepresentation-activity-7477667784139780097-t9EP)
## Setting and characters
The series is set in Manchester, with Manchester streets and interiors rendered in warm color. Rafi lives with her two dads, Dash and Jake; her friends Ruby and Finn, her neighbor Doris, and Aunty T step in while the house or street fills with the result of a wish.[6](https://tvtantrum.com/shows/rafi-the-wishing-wizard) Her magical pet cat Deborah appears throughout, and in one episode Rafi's cat wish reveals that being a cat is hard, leading her dads to build Deborah a magical cat flap so she will not get stuck outside.[11](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt39760632/episodes/)
Each wish carries a small lesson without a villain or crisis. The Football Wish sees Rafi wish for giant goalie hands, then make a fair fingertip save on Khia's penalty to win the game after the wish ends and her friends remind her she is already a good goalie.[12](https://buzzmelt.com/series/rafi-the-wishing-wizard) Other episodes cover asking for help, patience with nature, honesty after a chaotic Fixie Pixie wish, and passing on a lost T. rex toy to Oscar.[11](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt39760632/episodes/) Stories close on a hug, pancakes, or a small home fix.[6](https://tvtantrum.com/shows/rafi-the-wishing-wizard)
## Production
On 17 October 2023, the BBC named Rafi the Wishing Wizard as one of its new CBeebies and CBBC commissions, calling it a family sitcom in which seven-year-old Rafi, accompanied by her two dads, learns how to use her first wishing wand.[13](https://rts.org.uk/article/bbc-unveils-roster-cbbc-and-cbeebies-commissions) Seán McCormack directed all 50 credited episodes, and Tony Cooke served as head writer while also writing 17 episodes himself; other credited writers include Jen Upton with 8 episodes, Tim Bain, Sarah Campbell, Emma Hogan, and Mariama Ives-Moiba with 4 each.[4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt39760632/fullcredits/) Stephanie McKeon and Kyle Riabko composed the music.[4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt39760632/fullcredits/)
The BBC Studios Kids & Family catalog lists the series as 51 episodes of 7 minutes each in 2D for a preschool audience.[3](https://worldscreen.com/img/content/PDFs/TV-KIDS-GUIDE-OCTOBER-2025.pdf) The show was profiled for buyers at MIPCOM in October 2025 and announced for international audiences at Annecy in 2024 as an apparently ordinary family who are actually a household of modern-day wizards.[9](https://worldscreen.com/img/content/PDFs/TV-Kids-October-2025.pdf) • [14](https://www.c21media.net/bbc-studios-kids-and-family-qa-c21kids-summer-special-2024/) Blue Zoo presented a sneak peek at the Manchester Animation Festival in November, with creator and executive producer Tom Cousins appearing alongside cast and creatives.[15](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/blue-zoo-animation-studio_dont-miss-a-special-sneak-peek-of-rafi-the-activity-7383860771123834882-qi6u)
## Broadcast and availability
Series 1 premiered on CBeebies on 16 February 2026 with a double episode, The First Wish and The Bouncy Wish, and the remaining episodes aired through 20 March 2026, ending with The Camping Wish.[1](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/rafi-the-wishing-wizard/) • [8](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/rafi-the-wishing-wizard/episodes/) Episodes stream on [BBC iPlayer](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-iplayer), where the first episode runs 3 minutes and later episodes run 7 minutes.[16](https://bbc.com.im/iplayer/episodes/m002rd24/rafi-the-wishing-wizard) TVmaze lists 52 episodes ordered, with later episodes of the season airing in September 2026.[7](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/72012/rafi-the-wishing-wizard) BBC Studios ANZ announced the series for Australia as part of an expanded ABC partnership.[17](https://www.bbcstudios.com.au/news/bbc-studios-expands-abc-partnership-with-new-premium-kids-package)
Alongside the main episodes, a set of roughly 2-minute songs was released from 25 February 2026, including The Dinosaur Song, The Football Song, The Friends Song, The Unicorn Song, The Mermaid Song, and The Family Song.[18](https://tv.apple.com/gb/show/rafi-the-wishing-wizard/umc.cmc.2ewtemotsubt1z182qdqg2do5)
## Reception and style
The show carries an age rating of 4+ set by its makers. A sensory review site scored it 3 of 5 for stimulation, describing moderate pacing, dialogue intensity, sound effects, music tempo, and scene-change frequency, with low interactivity.[6](https://tvtantrum.com/shows/rafi-the-wishing-wizard) Sophie Hutton, a speech and language therapist and mother of Rafi's voice actor Mollie Hutton, wrote that the series was made with softer, more muted tones, slower transitions, and no fast-moving overstimulating visuals, which she observed allowed her six-year-old niece to follow the storyline and join in conversation.[19](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/sophie-hutton-8132151a0_rafi-the-wishing-wizard-not-only-have-activity-7429633713627422721-RcM-) On IMDb the series holds a rating of 6.7 out of 10 based on 47 votes.[20](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt39760632/)
## References
1. [Rafi The Wishing Wizard - CBeebies sitcom, British Comedy Guide](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/rafi-the-wishing-wizard/)
2. [Blue Zoo Animation Studio: First look at Rafi the Wishing Wizard (LinkedIn)](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/blue-zoo-animation-studio_first-look-at-brand-new-bbc-studios-activity-7426649525521539072-fuOA)
3. [WorldScreen TV Kids Guide, October 2025 (BBC Studios Kids & Family catalog)](https://worldscreen.com/img/content/PDFs/TV-KIDS-GUIDE-OCTOBER-2025.pdf)
4. [Rafi the Wishing Wizard (2026) Full cast & crew, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt39760632/fullcredits/)
5. [Rafi the Wishing Wizard (2026) Company credits, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt39760632/companycredits/)
6. [Is Rafi the Wishing Wizard Low Stimulation? TV Tantrum](https://tvtantrum.com/shows/rafi-the-wishing-wizard)
7. [Rafi the Wishing Wizard, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/72012/rafi-the-wishing-wizard)
8. [Rafi The Wishing Wizard episode guide, British Comedy Guide](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/rafi-the-wishing-wizard/episodes/)
9. [WorldScreen TV Kids, October 2025 (BBC Studios interview)](https://worldscreen.com/img/content/PDFs/TV-Kids-October-2025.pdf)
10. [Tom Cousins on Rafi the Wishing Wizard and LGBT representation (LinkedIn)](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/tom-cousins-766b4823_pridemonth-animation-lgbtqrepresentation-activity-7477667784139780097-t9EP)
11. [Rafi the Wishing Wizard (2026) Episode list, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt39760632/episodes/)
12. [Rafi the Wishing Wizard (2026) Cast & episodes, BuzzMelt](https://buzzmelt.com/series/rafi-the-wishing-wizard)
13. [BBC unveils roster of CBBC and CBeebies commissions, Royal Television Society](https://rts.org.uk/article/bbc-unveils-roster-cbbc-and-cbeebies-commissions)
14. [BBC Studios Kids and Family Q&A, C21Media](https://www.c21media.net/bbc-studios-kids-and-family-qa-c21kids-summer-special-2024/)
15. [Blue Zoo Animation Studio: Sneak peek at Manchester Animation Festival (LinkedIn)](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/blue-zoo-animation-studio_dont-miss-a-special-sneak-peek-of-rafi-the-activity-7383860771123834882-qi6u)
16. [Rafi the Wishing Wizard, BBC iPlayer](https://bbc.com.im/iplayer/episodes/m002rd24/rafi-the-wishing-wizard)
17. [BBC Studios expands ABC partnership with new premium kids package](https://www.bbcstudios.com.au/news/bbc-studios-expands-abc-partnership-with-new-premium-kids-package)
18. [Rafi the Wishing Wizard, Apple TV (UK)](https://tv.apple.com/gb/show/rafi-the-wishing-wizard/umc.cmc.2ewtemotsubt1z182qdqg2do5)
19. [Sophie Hutton on Rafi The Wishing Wizard (LinkedIn)](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/sophie-hutton-8132151a0_rafi-the-wishing-wizard-not-only-have-activity-7429633713627422721-RcM-)
20. [Rafi the Wishing Wizard (TV Series 2026), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt39760632/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Scripted television and comedy series › Animated television series (individual series) › Children's animated adventure and fantasy series › Preschool and educational series*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license