Having made one of last year's biggest-selling DVDs, the flamehaired puppet now looks set to storm to the top of this year's Christmas music charts with a new collection of classic children's songs. Bosco fans will also be able to purchase volume two of his 'Best of ' DVD this Christmas, which, along with the CD, will go on sale on Friday.

Songs and Stories will be Bosco's first musical release since the mid-1980s and is the latest step in re-establishing the former television star as a modern entertainer. Last year's DVD was a Christmas top-10 hit, outselling the likes of Little Britain, Naked Camera and Live 8.

According to Paula Lambert, the puppet's creator and daughter of Wanderly Wagon legend Eugene Lambert, Bosco has attracted many new fans in recent years, but has maintained a core fan base among the twentysomethings who grew up watching his exploits on RTE.

"Whenever I bring Bosco to public events, it is always people in their 20s saying, 'Oh my God, there's Bosco', " Lambert told the Sunday Tribune. "I brought him to the Electric Picnic festival last year and he was a huge hit.

"It was a bit of a risk going down there because I didn't know how people would react, but they loved him. I did the old routine from the television show and the crowd was all singing along and reciting the Magic Door chant."

According to Ciaran Savage of EMI, last year's DVD sold well as a Christmas present for children but was also hugely popular with students. Among the songs featured on the new CD are 'Puff the Magic Dragon', 'Baa, Baa, Black Sheep' and 'Jingle Bells'. The collection also includes three new stories read by Bosco.