Sesame Street is celebrating its 50th birthday and is still going strong.

The iconic children's show began airing on PBS in 1969. Its colourful cast of characters, including Bert and Ernie, Elmo, Big Bird, Cookie Monster and Oscar the Grouch, are still entertaining 150 million viewers around the world.

The show was originally created to provide preschool education for children whose parents couldn't afford it.

It has been praised for its diversity and depiction of characters from different backgrounds. In 2017 it introduced autistic character Julia, and last year added Lily, who is homeless.

Sesame Street has also expanded online. Its YouTube channel now has close to five million subscribers.

Alison Healy and Ed Smith discussed the show and the week's other TV news, including the recent spate of cancellations by Netflix and Colin Farrell's return to the small screen.