Once upon a time ago, little children across the land were allowed to exercise their imaginations by entering the realms of fantasy & fairytale...

...But new research commissioned to mark the launch of the hit US drama GRIMM suggests that these traditional stories, and arguably timeless tales, are being ditched by parents on the basis of the underlying dark themes. 45% of mothers and fathers refuse to read Rumplestiltskin to their little ones, fearing themes of kidnapping and execution aren't appropriate bedtime material. Goldilocks & The Three Bears is left sitting on the shelf, in case the morals surrounding stealing become lax. And 52% of parents believe Cinderella is non PC, by suggesting its perfectly acceptable for young women to slave away on housework all day long.

I'm in the studio with children's author Diane Purkiss, who sits on the advisory board for the Sussex Centre for Folklore, Fairytale and Fantasy, and we're discussing why attitudes have changed. Are we worrying too much about the overactive imagination of our children? New drama series GRIMM starts tonight at 9pm on Watch and sees six gritty episodes based on traditional Grimm fairytales, embracing the darker side of fairytale classics.