Creator Helena Harris initially conceived Hi-5 in 1998 along with co-producer Posie Graeme-Evans, developing the series as entertainment for preschoolers.
[4] The creators believed that pre-schoolers were rapidly maturing beyond programs such as Here's Humphrey, and discovered that most children learned from shows which incorporated movement and song.
[8] Harris and Graeme-Evans pitched Hi-5 to the Nine Network through Kids Like Us, their joint independent production company.
After auditions for the cast were held in June 1998,[5] a pilot was produced,[9] and shown to a test audience.
[10] The original cast consisted of Kellie Crawford (née Hoggart), Kathleen de Leon Jones, Nathan Foley, Tim Harding and Charli Robinson, who were aged between 19 and 25 at the time of the series' airing.