HBO, home of Sex And The City (DVDs) and The Sopranos (DVDs), has bought the rights to the most shocking of all British television shows, Postman Pat.

No, not a new live-action version of Postman Pat starring Vin Diesel as a drunken, violent, misogynist Postman Pat with Tourettes syndrome. The real Postman Pat. They’re showing the animated programme you watched when you were little.

It’s not quite the ropey, 24 year-old Postman Pat that HBO will broadcast. It’s the new series, as shown on British television last year. And it won’t be shown on the grown-up version of HBO, but HBO Family. From the autumn, it will be broadcast in English and Spanish to 35 million households.

What American kids will make of Postman Pat remains to be seen. They’re used to shows called things like TV’s Noisiest Car Wreckages, so a sedate problem-haired postman going about his daily business might prove to be a turn-off for them. On the other hand, he might become the new Teletubbies.

Lets hope the success doesn’t go to his head. Nobody wants to see Postman Pat end up in rehab.